I was born and raised in New Zealand but like many Kiwi's I travelled. In my early twenties I spent months at a time in Indonesia escaping our cold winters. There I travelled by motorbike hunting out surf spots, meeting the locals, camping next to jungles, eating amazing local cuisine, lazing on isolated islands [ where I was bitten by a tropical Centipede and danced around by a local witch doctor] and drawing in my journal.

 

I continued my nomadic lifestyle from there to London where I worked as a waitress and mural painter - even painting part of the ceiling of the famous 'Polar Bear Pub' in Leister Square. I spent time in Morocco and later in Italy and France.

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Eventually I returned to Dunedin, New Zealand where at 27 I received a degree in Fine Arts. I was lucky enough to get a job at Animation Research Ltd where I worked for 12 years. During this time I did everything from 3D animation, creative direction, production management, concept art, web design to even working on Formula One race courses.

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I had my first solo exhibition in 2012 as a full time artist at Orexart in Auckland. The show was called 'Spindle' and featured large scale portrayals of fairytale characters and archetypes. I was reading a lot of fairytales to my son and fell in love with the darkness of the original tales by Hans Christian Anderson and of course the brothers Grimm. 

 

Since making the decision to become a full-time artist I have been exhibiting both nationally and internationally - 'Orexart' in Auckland, 'The Artist's Room' in Dunedin, Internationally - 'Beinart Gallery' in Melbourne, 'Roq La Rue' in Seattle , 'Corey Helford Gallery' in Los Angeles.

 

In recent years I have been exploring the relationships between humans and animals and how I can extend my storytelling through these new characters, bringing another dimension into my work that address both the whimsical and the darker side of life.