When I left university and was putting together a CV to find a serious job, my friends would laugh at what I had written under the ‘hobbies’ section. ‘Colour’ they said ‘you can’t have colour as a hobby’ but the truth is I have always loved vibrant colours and although at the time I don’t think I knew how exactly colour manifested itself as a hobby, I knew that colour was important to me and was a word I wanted to have down in any document describing me.

I come from a family of artists. We all have different areas of focus but I am the only one who surrounds myself with bright, cheery hues and tries to spread my colour philosophy through my work. (My philosophy is simply that bright colours can be uplifting and inspiring)

In recent years, my inspiration has come from my beautiful surroundings – five years living on a beach in Brazil, followed by nearly as many years living here on a very different beach – a Scottish beach surrounded by light airy woods in all their beauty, sounds and smells. In February the snowdrops come out in their large swathes followed by the spring with the verdant colour of wild garlic and its amazing smell and then the fruit trees blossoming. The range of rhododendron colours here are staggering. The wild flowers and bluebells mingle in between bringing all sorts of colours to the woods. The birdsong is incredible; the variety of birds staggering and it is not unusual to have over ten swans land on the water in front of my garden gate. The beach is a protected bird area and I spend any spare time in August collecting discarded curlew feathers. It takes a lot of collecting to get enough perfect feathers for one of my rounds (see feather section).

I also have a lot to thank Brazil for. Firstly of course for meeting my amazing husband and beloved dogs who give me the support and happiness to do my work but also, it is here that I came across a Beatriz Milhazes picture. Her pictures have inspired me like no others before. To add to this the bright colours of the incredible flowers. Our house was wrapped in bougainvillea and surrounded by coconuts, mangoes and papaya trees. The spirit and happiness of the Brazilian joie de vivre was infectious and importantly, at last I had the time to actually do something with my creative yearning. This was the start of my art becoming more than just a hobby.

Thank you for looking at my site. If you have any questions, suggestions or would like to buy something then please do get in touch. I hope that if you do buy something from me that the lovely colours will bring a smile to your face over and over again.

Chloe

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