Born 1964 in Cape Town

At what age did you know that you wanted to be an artist?

• I was 14 and very emotionally damaged and  - always in detention for never appearing for lessons because I was ‘lost’ in the art room also always being 5 minutes late – a problem I still have.

what age did you become an artist?

• At 14 when I realized that I had absolute control over a 2-dimensional surface through the smudge and the smear of an expressive mark. That you can create a world that is so different than the nightmare you occupy. That this control was dependant on your ability and skill at any given time in your life but even that you could practice through constant drawing and experimentation.

are you formally trained or self taught?

Both

• Fine Art studies -University of Cape Town and University of South Africa
• I won an art competition funded through the Kelloggs Foundation for 4 years study anywhere in the world but was too terrified to go ‘all-the-way’ hence Cape Town University- birth city

who inspired you

• Professor Kevin Atkinson was a brilliant supervisor and inspiration- he also lectured artist  Marlene Dumas (A South African Artist based in the Netherlands) who is our highest earning living artist – she recently sold a work for 500 000 pounds in the USA

• The post painterly Abstractors, Gothic, Christian Art, Goya, all the truly passionate and expressive artists – but mainly through images in Art books 

what inspires you on a daily basis to be creative

I am currently working on a mining theme – “EARTHSCARS” A response to Africa’s West coast mining scars but am fascinated with the action of minerals and sands that are a by product of mining activities- titanium, zinc, copper, cadmiums, platinum, gold mine dust, kimberlite, iron oxides and ochres that offer a fantastic range of colours and textures and qualities

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