I start with a blank piece of paper. I work at my rather battered, oak table and use my various brushes, inks and usually have a cat sitting on my lap and my dog at my feet.  I have to remember not to clean my brush in my cup of tea. I then see what inspires me but always use lots of colour.

 

My inspirations come from anywhere and everywhere and often stem from a memory of a previous experience. I'm a visual junkie and love anything from street art to Diane Arbuss' photography.  I have been a competitive swimmer,  a primary school teacher for 15 years, taken part in carnivals, face painted, worked in a Cuban school on a cultural exchange, climbed mountains, done a forward abseil, camped under the stars and does this count as my 5 minutes of fame?

 

One of my inspirations is Quentin Blake for his deceptively simplistic illustrations.  My dream is to have my work published in a children's book.  After many years of reading stories out loud to my class and to my own children, I realised the importance of the illustrations to engage the children with the text and develop their love of real books.  I hope one day that my drawings will be able to do the same in a classroom or home somewhere.