ARTIST STATEMENT
I’m a self-taught painter with a deep love for colour, warmth, and light. I believe they have the power to shift how we feel.
My style blends bold abstraction with fine detail. I paint intuitively (usually manically), using acrylics, spray paint, pens, and metallic leaf.
Art has always been my escape. I get deep into the zone, it challenges me, grounds me, and when it’s done, helps me connect with people.
Much of my inspiration comes while walking by the sea. Walking and painting are where I feel most in my element. The light, the rhythm, the shifting colours always spark something.
At its core, my work is about being real, especially while we’re all busy playing the game of life.
I believe art holds energy, just like the spaces we live in. I’m only called to create when I feel positive and excited, and that energy naturally finds its way into the work.
I hope my art brings good energy into your space, helps you escape the ordinary, and reminds you of who you really are.
My journey so far
Success found me early, at just four years old in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.
I won a colouring competition held by our local Happy Shopper. I won a plastic tennis racket, which didn’t excite me, but the recognition felt like pure gold.
At seven, those skills really paid off. I won another colouring competition, and this time the prize was a SEGA Mega Drive. My popularity soared and a monster was created.
At 17, I went to Stroud Art School, where I built confidence in my creativity and helped my tutor teach photoshop in exchange for unlimited printer access.
This was followed by Plymouth University, where I started to shape a bigger and slightly delusional vision for my art and where it might take me.
Then came Bristol, one of the greatest cities I’ve ever lived in.
The music, the art, the people, I don’t think I’ve known a better place for creativity.
I exchanged art and music promo design work for gig tickets and pints.
And just before I left, I had my first solo art exhibition.
At 28, I moved to London to focus on design work. I thought I was living the dream but it left little space for my art. The days blurred. My spark began to fade. Burnout quietly crept in.
At 33, I left for Brighton, and later found myself in Worthing. I was living by the sea and had finally hit a lifelong goal: having a dog by my side.
Missy helped me focus, prioritise, and slow down. And the creativity came centre stage again.
Good Energy Art is a new chapter in my visual diary and sharing that is the biggest privilege.
I often think about what four-year-old Jo would think of all this. She just loved to be in the zone and see people happy with what she was doing.
And nearly 40 years later, I realise I haven’t changed that much at all.
Art archive
A collection of my paintings and drawings, which show the weird and wonderful over the past two decades.