"I am an artist who spends a lot of time staring into flowers. I rarely work from photos or even my own drawings; perhaps they are too still. There is a stillness about a real flower, but a stillness that masks an unceasing journey of transformation.
My work is an attempt to convey this paradox of quiet grace, coupled with such inherent movement. Petals can appear to be seemingly floating on air; they can be stretched in readiness to 'take off'; they can seem to be sculpted into swirling channels and billowing shapes by an invisible wind, but there is no wind, just a silent suspension in response to light.
I work on a scale that is larger than life, so there is space for the viewer to come inside the scene and share the transient energy of this silent sensuous world."
Ceramics
"My pottery has developed hand in hand with my work as a painter and ceramics teacher.
I am inspired by change produced by time. Whether that be in the rocks on the sea shore or in the cycle of a flowering plant. Change that we can't see happening, but has become integral to the structure of the form we are observing.
The exciting aspect of working in clay is how change can happen at the touch of a finger, itself suggesting an unpredictable future, offering a route for maker and medium to journey together, before becoming more seemingly permanent in the fire of the kiln."
After leaving school I spent six months doing voluntary work in South India. This was a very visual experience for me and spearheaded my decision to study art. On my return I went to Banbury College of Art and then from there, to the Royal Academy Schools, where I achieved their Diploma in Fine Art in 1983. It was while at college in London that I started to “move into” flowers, perhaps a reaction to the grey harshness of the city environment.
I like to work towards an exhibition where I can show a body of recent work. Over the years I have had exhibitions on a regular basis at different venues around the country. Perhaps the most significant event in my exhibiting career was the opportunity to show 30 works in Kew Gardens. Recent solo exhibitions have been at Exbury Gardens in the New Forest, Oxford Botanic Gardens 2015, Wolfson College Oxford 2017 and East Lambrook Manor Gardens in 2021 (See below for more details of exhibitions.)
I enjoy teaching; only to paint, even if I could survive financially by it, would make me dangerously introvert and probably loopy! Two years after leaving the RA, I went to Goldsmiths’ College where I received an Art Teacher's Certificate. My career since then has been a balance between painting and teaching. Several years teaching in comprehensive schools has been followed by part-time work, in schools, further education colleges, youth clubs and most recently in Eastbury House, Sherborne, a residential home for the elderly.
After living in various locations in Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and London; my husband and I moved from Grimsby to Dorset in 2005, where I am a member of WESCA, Wessex Contemporary Art, and more recently The Dorset Salon, a Fine Art Collective.
| GROUP EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 1983 | "Pick of the New Graduates" at Christies London | |
| 1983 | "Royal Institute of Oil Painters" at the Mall Galleries, London | |
| 1989 | "Kensington and Chelsea Artists' Exhibition", London | |
| 1990 | The Flower Gallery, King's Road, London, SW3 | |
| 1992 | "Three Women", Greenwich Theatre Art Gallery, London (three person show) | |
| 1993 | "Three Women", Knapp Gallery, Regent’s Park, London (three person show) | |
| 1994 | Paintings bought for permanent display by Kimberly-Clark Ltd, N Lincs | |
| 1994-5 | Mistral Gallery, Dover Street, London | |
| 1995-8 | "Peterborough Exhibition Group", Peterborough Museum | |
| 1995 | "West Road 95", Cambridge | |
| 1996 | "Our Space", Knapp Gallery, Regent's College, London (three person show) | |
| 1996-7 | "Move Closer", Kew Gardens Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London (three persons show) | |
| 1997 | Roy Miles Gallery, Bruton Street, London | |
| 1998 | Cottage Gallery, Huntingdon, Cambs (three person show) | |
| 1998 | Royalty Agreement made with "Blossoms and Bows Ltd", Wisbech; for the production, publishing and sale of greetings cards of six paintings | |
| 1998-9 | Quayside Gallery, St Ives, Cambs | |
| 2002 | "A Celebration of the Environment" Gallery at the Gidenburgh, Peterborough | |
| 2002-3 | 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, N. E. Lincs | |
| 2003 | Ferens Gallery, Hull | |
| 2004 | "Floral Expressions" Blue Wing Gallery, Kew, London | |
| 2005 | Burlington Fine Art, Burlington Arcade, London | |
| 2005 | "Get out of the House" Sherborne House, Sherborne, Dorset | |
| 2006 | "A Brush with Words" Martins Gallery, Cheltenham | |
| 2006 | Guggleton Gallery, Stalbridge, Dorset | |
| 2006 | "Petals" Figura Gallery, Windsor | |
| 2006 | "A Brief Encounter" Martin's Gallery, Cheltenham | |
| 2014 | "Broadway Arts Festival Competion", Little Bucklands Gallery, Broadway, Worcs | |
| 2014 | "Work on Progress" a WESCA exhibition, Eype Centre for the Arts, Eype, Dorset | |
| 2015 | "Pastel Society Annual Exhibition", The Mall Galleries, London | |
| 2015 | "WESCA", The Slade Centre, Gillingham | |
| 2015 | "Winter Fair", The Lovely Gallery, Sydenham, London | |
| 2015 | "On the Edge", Fine Foundation Gallery, Durlston | |
| 2016 | "Works on Paper", The Lovely Gallery, Sydenham, London | |
| 2016 | "Fire" Walford Mill Crafts, Wimborne, Ceramics | |
| 2017 | "Earth Pulse" H Simpson, J Burden and I Bittner Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Romsey | |
| 2018 | "Wet Paint" Bridport Art Centre, Bridport, Dorset | |
| 2018 | "WESCA Exhibition, Dorset Art Weeks" Viva Comeda, Sherborne, Dorset | |
| 2019 | "Drawn to Dorset" I Fine Foundation Gallery, Durlston, Swanage | |
| 2019 | "Summer Colour" The Tincleton Gallery, Tincleton, Dorset | |
| 2019 | "Wet Paint" Dorset Salon Group.The Allsop Gallery, Bridport, Dorset | 2019 | "Restless Still" H Simpson I Bittner and K EdwardsThe Lovely Gallery, London SE26 5JZ | 2019 | "Sideways Glance" 44AD artspace, a WESCA exhibition, Bath | 2019 | "Drawing on Dorset" Selected drawings, exhibition and publication. Fine Foundation Gallery, Swanage, The Slade Centre, Gillingham and Dorchester Hospital | 2019 | "The Salon" The Lighthouse, Poole | 2020 | “Restless Still” H Simpson and I Bittner Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Romsey. 21st-24th February | 2020 | “The Salon Dorset, a Fine Art Collective” Furleigh Estate, Bridport. 6th - 28th March | 2023 | “Breathless" A Wesca Exhibition Shaftesbury Arts Centre, Shaftesbury. 1st - 14th March | 2023 | “Visual Rhythm" East Lambrook Manor Gardens, Somerset. 2nd - 30th May |
| SOLO EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 1997 | "Intimate Nature" Quayside Gallery, St Ives, Cambs | |
| 1997 | "Hidden Movement", St Neot’s Museum, St Neot's, Cambs | |
| 1999 | "Stalks and Petals", Angles Art Centre, Wisbech | |
| 2001 | Blackfriars Art Centre, Boston, Lincs | |
| 2002 | "Restless Stillness", the Orchard Gallery, Gunby Hall, Spilsby, Lincs | |
| 2003 | Islington Arts Factory, Parkhurst Road, London | |
| 2004 | Diana Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby | |
| 2004 | "Tulip Fever" Muriel Barker Gallery, Heritage Centre, Grimsby | |
| 2004 | "In Bloom", Alex May Gallery, Bridlington | |
| 2006 | Springhead Centre for Arts, Fontmell Magna, Shaftesbury, Dorset | |
| 2007 | "Breath of Light" Town Mill Galleries, Lyme Regis | |
| 2009 | Artist in Residence, Nature in Art, Twigworth, Gloucester | |
| 2010 | Five Arrows Gallery, Exbury Gardens, Hampshire | |
| 2015 | "Whispers of Future Past", Oxford Botanic Garden, High St, Oxford | |
| 2017 | "Traveller's Poise" Wolfson College, Oxford, 29th January - 17th February | |
| 2021 | "Petal Poise" East Lambrook Manor Gardens, Somerset, 1st - 29th May and 24th July - 14th August | |