About me

One of the things which I remember from my early youth is making little drawings all the time and loving it. I did not, however, become a full-time artist straight away after school. First, life interfered, so to speak. But I am back on track!

About twenty years ago I met Robert, we married, and shortly afterwards made a mutual dream come true: we bought a Victorian Shooting Lodge on a hill-side in Scotland, overlooking St Mary's Loch, and, after restoring the place to its former glory, spent fantastic years far away from the clamour of confused capitalism.

This is me on a trip to Kirkcudbright, to visit the house and garden of the 19th century artist Hornel, one of the Glasgow Boys. Photograph: September 2011.

In Scotland I found the peace and tranquillity to return to the passion of my youth: drawing and painting. By then I had also become interested in old prints - townscapes and botanicals, and the famous Punch caricatures - and I decided to pursue mastering the art and craft of hand colouring these illustrations of the past.

I took private tuition from a professional, Colin Robertson from Dalkeith near Edinburgh, and received in solid grounding in all aspects of the art of watercolouring.

After a while I started selling hand-coloured caricatures and townscapes (of Edinburgh, mostly, and of assorted Dutch townscapes and seascapes) to private collectors from various countries, including Scotland, England, Netherlands, USA and India. Furthermore, my work was exhibited in the major venues of Golf: the MacDonalds in North Berwick, the Gleneagles Hotel in Achterarder and The Roxburghe near Kelso.

Restoring a large 18th century painting.
The clergyman kept staring at me while I worked
but eventually seemed to agree with the result.

After moving back to the Continent in 2004, to Germany this time, I took new lessons in drawing and changed to painting in oil. The paintings on this website are the result of the work of the past couple of years. Some of the places where I received help to get where I am today, are:

Bildraum, Osnabrück, 2007

Under Jakob Bartnik's guidance I applied myself to formally learning the art of drawing.

Chateau Bogar, France, 2007

The Dutch artist Jos van de Ven is resident in a beautiful Chateau in Bretagne. He introduced me to the techniques for painting in the style of 17th and 18th Century Dutch and Flemish Masters.

Oxford, England, 2007

Sitting in a College hall in Oxford and learning about the history of art is a fantastic experience.

Germany, Holland, France, 2008 - 2009

Intensive study into the art and techniques of the Old Master Painters. Repeated study trips to The Louvre, the Mauritshuis and the Weem.

Atelier Mulder, Netherlands, 2009

Trompe l'oeil is his forte, but Henk Mulder is also very adept at explaining why, and pointing out where, to apply highlights, and accentuate shadows.

IBKK, Bochum, 2011

Because there is more to Art than just pigments and canvas and a dash of creativity, I have decided to embark on a three year study at the IBKK, where I aim to obtain the official qualifications necessary for teaching art in schools.

Since moving to Germany, I have had a couple of occasions to have my oil paintings featuring in exhibitions.

Galerie Mulder, 2009

Two of my paintings were included in an exposition at the Galerie of Henk Mulder, in Holten, the Netherlands.

Orangerie at Gut Ostenwalde, 2009

In the Orangerie at this old stately home I showed a collection of caricatures from my time in Scotland, as well as a first series of paintings.

Galerie HK, Deventer, 2010

An exhibition of my paintings covered the length of a wall in this gallery in the famous Walstraat in Deventer. The poster for this exhibition featured the painting of the Georgian Decanter.

Schloss Gesmold, Germany, 2010 & 2011

My paintings filled a room in the orangerie of this Wasserschloss. For one of the exhibitions here I had the flyer made which features the painting of the Books with the Letters from Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo (see the page about that painting).