In her own words...
I was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire in the fifties, where steam, smoke and coal were an everyday event. Riding behind a steam locomotive meant a day at the seaside or a holiday, so every visit to the local railway station (Wakefield Kirkgate) was magic and very memorable.
I was always drawing and painting something throughout my childhood, an interest I inherited from my mum, who attended Wakefield Art College when she was young. I took art at school, such as it was, but a desire to follow in my mother's footsteps wasn’t realised. Upon leaving school I went into full time employment in a financial environment.
Over the years I have continued to paint and draw in my spare time, studying techniques from books and developing my own style without further formal instruction. I have always been inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, with their realism and detail.
Lately I've taken to painting railway subjects, much encouraged by my railway modelling husband. I make much use of the internet and my husband's beloved railway reference books, which provide me with the level of detail I love to paint. There is a beauty in these old beasts that I hope to show in my paintings.
Horton Road Shed
Summer Sunday at Gloucester Horton Road engine shed c1961. Great Western Railway large prairie tank loco No.6126.
De-light At Holbeck
A Stanier Black 5 on shed inside Leeds Holbeck engine shed in 1966.
Fletcher 901
The front end of the Fletcher No 910, a steam locomotive of the 901 class, built for the North Eastern Railway by Edward Fletcher who was apprentice to George Stephenson and worked on the building of Rocket. Part of the National collection, it now resides in preservation at Kirby Stephen station.
J52 Quietly Gleaming
An abstract view of steam locomotive 'Great Northern Railway J14 (LNERJ52)', Introduced by HA Ivatt in 1897 with some of the class lasting until 1961. This loco has recently been repainted in the striking Great Northern Railway livery by the National Railway Museum.
Buckeye Coupling
This is a close up view of a Buckeye Coupling that has seen a lot of service. Buckeye Couplings were adopted as standard for new coaches, by the LNER in 1923.
Shed Bunking
The scene is based on York North Shed around 1948 at the dawn of nationalisation. The locomotives from left to right are LNER A4 Sparrow Hawk, British Railways A1 W P Allen and LNER V2 Green Arrow. The name of the painting comes from the two small schoolboys in the doorway of the shed, who have bunked off school for the afternoon, stood gazing at the locomotives as the foreman looks on.
Should We Really Be Here?
A view of the former LNER Thompson B1 Harry Hinchliffe looking rather neglected at Wakefield Shed in the 1960's. The schoolboys are peering in the entrance to the shed, wondering whether they should really be there.
The Return Of A Desert Rat
War Department Austerity 2-10-0 locomotive No.3672 'Dame Vera Lynn' seen in 1945.
The Austerity 2-10-0 was based on the Austerity 2-8-0 with which it had interchangeable components. It had the same power output as the 2-8-0 but a lighter axle load.
