I’ve packed up my sketch books and headed home to the fish farm…....read more.

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Sunshine and flowers - life is good...read more.

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I’ve been playing the name game this week and trying to think up some cool names for the colours featuring in the prints I am creating with Heartbreak Publishing. ...read more.

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I spent all day yesterday drawing in the studio and thinking about my Darwinism-esque project. ...read more.

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Sparked by a series of programmes on Radio 4, my newfound interest in the Biologist Darwin, combined with family roots in Horticulture, Biology and Game Keeping, has given me an idea for a project proposal I’m putting together for the Scottish Arts Council. ...read more.

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After 2 hours of staring at a blank sheet of paper and several pots of coffee later, I was on a caffeine high and skipping out the door on a quest for ‘Inspiration Salvation’....read more.

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I use the term ‘organic’ quite a bit when I describe my practice and I thought these photos kind of personified what that was all about. Far from being a battery-reared designer, penned in by computers and concrete walls, my creativity often takes form on regular trips back to my family home, the fish farm up in Aberdeenshire. Inspired by the freedom of the rambling countryside and zingy fresh air, many of the designs either take form on a battered little sketch book stashed in my childhood bedroom or are mused over on long walks with our Golden Labs. Last weekend we took an early Sunday morning walk down the old railway line to pick Brambles and Crab Apples (which later made their way into a pretty darn good crumble) as the dogs dashed about in pursuit of rabbits and pheasants I mused over my Spring / Summer collection....read more.

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The world is full of great double acts, Kylie and Jason, Rhubarb and Custard, Tia Maria and orange juice (try it, it takes like Jaffa Cakes!). For me, Black and White is the ultimate combo; clean and crisp white, against dense inky black provides the perfect format for showcasing my style of intricately drawn pattern. The artwork I create is so densely composed, I often think injecting colour into the design may deflect attention away from the fundamentals of the composition; line, shape and pattern. I don’t use a multi-specturm colour palette, as I just feel it is unnecessary. The drawings are created in black and white, so retaining the original palette feels true to the design almost. I don’t leave the final stages of the design down to a computer pantone palette, selecting random colours at whim with the click of a mouse, the designs I sell are more honest than that. My finished pieces have grown organically on the page and their final format represents how I envisaged the piece during the creative process. Embrace the monochrome; black and white is the new black!...read more.

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I escaped from the studio and Dundee this week to head back up to my parents’ fish farm in Aberdeenshire in search of some inspiration. Long walks with our 2 golden labs around the fish farm provided plenty of new ideas of the botanical kind. Armed with just my trusty Canon Camera, a pair of red flowery wellies and a pocketful of dog biscuits (just incase), my canine companions and myself went in search of the weird and the wonderful of the plant world. On our daily rambles through the Buchan countryside we came across bramble bushes and crab apple trees, wild raspberries, abandoned nests, giant stalks of cow parsley, harebells, fireweed stems, seed pods and dog roses, tufted thistle heads and rose hips, honeysuckle, baby rabbits, pheasants and even a couple of herons. I’ve got a million little ideas bubbling away, so now its back to the studio to get creative....read more.

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