In previous years while studying at Glasgow School of Art, my art had the theme of ‘Alcoholism’ where my imagery was very powerful, dark, reflective and shocking. I was touched when someone came to my exhibition last year and bought many of my artworks to help encourage herself to maintain her sobriety. Family and friends, I know personally have suffered from Alcoholism, and some still do. Their journeys are real, and sobriety is very fragile. It’s always day to day or even minute by minute nothing is taken for granted but I’m proud of their efforts.

I was lost at the beginning with what direction I wanted to go in, should I go darker? Or should I embrace the positivity? So, I made a range of different artworks to see what would work best. I did get discouraged and frustrated very quickly and left most unfinished. However, these unfinished works did slowly give me the lightbulb moment to piece together and design an interactive board game. My work share both 3D and 2D visual elements to immerse the viewer within my own wee world. The overall message I want to put over is to always get home safely from the pub after a night out. I want to give a choice of colourful characters with ridiculous humorous backstories (some are semi true…I won’t divulge which) to give empathy and entertainment. I want the viewer to feel part of the artwork and get involved in the story, and the stories within that story. Because we all have stories. Sometimes we just need someone to hear them and to care.

I am based in North Ayrshire, Scotland. As an artist I don’t want to be pigeonholed into focusing on one type of art, I like the challenge of being open to new techniques and mediums. I am proud to say I have created bespoke realistic portrait drawings, designed book covers and business murals, overseen painting scenery backgrounds for pantomimes and creating window paintings for local businesses and hospitals. You may even have seen my collaborative bale artwork within farmer fields in North Ayrshire. I also enjoy running the art and craft clubs representing my town in competitions. In future I want to give something back, by volunteering my time setting up workshops for keen upcoming artists of all ages. Sharing my experiences with art and learning from others. I pride myself in giving my customers a result which exceeds their expectations. I always aim to tick all their boxes and surpass their requirements. In recent works I have been exploring installations, art you can walk amongst. I have taken inspiration from these to explore this technique in the miniature world. A micro installation. Still involving the viewer in the artwork, I aim to include them this time within the artwork in an interactive journey where they can become part of the artwork and its story. I want to engage the viewer to not only look at my artwork but to also participate in my work and let them embrace the visual experience.

If the world of art is an ocean, I want to sail freely amongst its ever-changing waves and hopefully contribute to the swells of inspiration to future artists embarking on their own journey.