I was fortunate to be born into a large family of creatives (if slightly eccentric!), including painters, writers, musicians and poets. I was always encouraged in my creative endeavours right from the start, and I loved to draw and paint from an early age. I've always had a deep love of animals and I particularly enjoyed painting the family pets and the farm animals and wildlife around my family home in rural Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England.

When I was fifteen, my dad bought me a beautiful set of watercolours, and I instantly fell in love with them, and have remained so to this day. Their fluidly, transparency and jewel-like qualities never cease to enthrall me. The spontaneity of the medium makes them perfect for quick sketches at home and on location. The combination of ink pen with watercolour paint is my favourite way of sketching the world around me, and the things that catch my eye.

After I made the decision to pursue art as a career back in 2006, I set off down the well-trodden path of many artists, making art to frame and hang on walls, continually chasing galleries and exhibition, and I was lucky to have success, selling many paintings and winning awards and exhibiting in prestigious exhibitions across the world. Throughout this time I painted in many different mediums and genres I kept up a regular sketching habit, working predominantly with ink pens. But, I was never really creatively satisfied, and was only truly happy when I was working in my sketchbook.

It took me years of constantly searching for my creative identity for the penny to drop, and for me to gain the courage to ditch the idea of becoming a ‘proper artist’, and allow myself to fully embrace being a dedicated ‘sketchbook artist’. The ironic thing is that I’ve never felt so much like a ‘proper artist’! For the first time I’m creatively fulfilled, and instead of procrastinating in my studio, I’m constantly filling sketchbook after sketchbook, working in my studio, at home, and out and about in my home county of Derbyshire and further afield on travels in our VW camper, called Shrek.

I really hope you enjoy my sketches, finding beauty in the ordinary moments, and maybe even inspiring you to begin your own sketching journey!