The Artist I was born into a family with two very different cultural and artistic traditions – that of my father's native Poland, and the more cosmopolitan influences of Istanbul where my mother was born. I've always been excited by the world around me, its visual beauty, music, poetry and history. My early memories are punctuated by moments such as feeling the passion of Chopin, watching a turquoise caterpillar rippling over the green leaf of a marigold in full bloom, and the indescribable emotion as I read W.B.Yeats' Dream Aengus for the first time. I spent four wonderful years at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating with a D.A. In Drawing and Painting, and I came to Dumfries to teach Art. I painted in oils, at first mostly still lifes. I arranged the objects with care, delighting in shapes and colours. Landscapes were painted rapidly, trying to capture the changing moods of the light. No painting until my sons were in secondary school, and then a gradual return to my art, and now I paint full time.

Art should never be static, but a never-ending journey of exploration, experimentation and discovery and anyway, I get bored very easily! Over the past few years, my work has veered off in a new direction. Inspired by fragments of history in Greece and Spain, wandering through these places, hearing echoes of the past in vast Byzantine churches, crumbling ruins, the heat of the sun, the smell of aromatic herbs; all come together in large semi abstracts, using different materials. I am often asked why or how I paint in so many “styles”. I can only say that it is not a conscious decision; simply, I react differently to chocolate and to a Mozart symphony, to my grandchild's face and to a Galloway landscape. At the present, I am working on a series of heads, but by the time you read this I might be on something completely different. As I get older, I find my work evolving and developing a new confidence in which I explore my ideas in a series of works on a theme, then move on. This keeps me fresh, interested, and (hopefully) interesting.

When my Studio Open sign is up, all are welcome to come in and chat. As well as paintings, there are cards and prints available. At other times, a phone call beforehand would be helpful to make sure I'm in.,

Email me here or Phone me on: 01556 650329 Mobile: 07811 780 639 Meadowview, Springholm, CASTLE DOUGLAS, DG7 3LP.