Deborah’s peaceful contemporary artworks are a reflection of her love for the countryside around her in East Anglia, where she lives and works. But her influences don’t stop there. She is inspired by the landscapes of both UK and Eire, and will travel to get a first-hand feel for the atmosphere and light.

Her personal artist statement reflects her art practice, thought processes, influences and intuition; all of which are deeply important to the way she works.

“Growing up in the countryside of Suffolk, England, has been my greatest influence and I began to capture the character of its landscapes at an early age. Whilst developing as an artist my affinity with the landscape and it’s richness has grown, and my current work still reflects this. My recent works are being influenced by places further afield such as Northern Ireland and Yorkshire, as I have taken trips to them to see their beautiful scenery first hand.

Each of my paintings start with a basic sketch and plan. As the creative process develops I allow the piece to show itself and breathe its own life. Being so connected with the subject of the painting aids the evolution of the spirit and mood of each artwork I produce.

The whole process of making art for me is like the natural growth and rhythm of the landscapes I portray – it starts with a seed and flourishes at it’s own pace, giving rise to a rich depth, vibrancy and texture.”

Whilst Deborah has always wanted to be an artist for a living, she only became professional in 2008, after many years as a professional musician, and before that, a Registered Nurse. The opportunity arose to pursue her art-making when she was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis which prevented her from regularly performing as a musician, and from returning to nursing. The transformation was however, no surprise to most, as her passion for painting has always been there. Once she made the decision to become an artist full time, her skills and reputation have grown.

Whilst being interviewed for an exhibition she held with her father in 2012, she recalled,

“I clearly remember getting my first paintbox from my parents, after expressing an interest in Dad’s paintings and rummaging around in his collection of oil paints. There was also a friend of my parents’ who was a professional artist and I was in awe of his studio and his paintings.”

On top of her studio work, she has been regularly teaching in the community. She is often invited to lead and demonstrate to art groups in Suffolk, and also runs inspirational creative workshops of her own. Deborah has a recognisable method of painting with acrylics, using tissue paper and modeling pastes as a textural base on canvas or wood. When she is working with watercolour paints she creates a lot of special effects using salt, cling film, tin foil and many other methods on paper. She has found that people are fascinated by these techniques and she loves to share her knowledge and skills through educating and encouraging others.

2016 will see the publishing of Deborah’s debut book, “Whispers of the Landscape”, an illustrated book of landscape paintings and poetic text. This will be a coffee-table style book which will be perfect for collectors and as a gift.
Later in the year the book “10 Steps to Being the Artist YOU want to be” will be released. Her intention is for this book to be inspiring, encouraging and empowering for artists who are either wanting to take their work further, or they are already doing that but are stuck somewhere. Each chapter talks about an important and significant step on the creative journey to help the artist be true to themselves and their creativity. Too often artists are discouraged and limited by their internal talk and the opinions of others. Having been down that road for so long, she knows how important it is to express yourself freely. As a child Deborah had always wanted to be an artist but was discouraged by teachers and parents to get a proper job that offers security. She did just that but eventually found herself back at the easel on a regular basis in her late 30’s. As time passed she painted more and made herself known to galleries and exhibition opportunities. Deborah studied hard in art and business so that she could make a successful job of being an artist. Now, as a full-time artist, she knows she will do this for the rest of her life, and says the thought of not having a retirement date is fabulous as she can work until she can no longer hold a brush. Deborah is in her mid 40s now, so she has a long time ahead of her to keep painting and making a difference.

Deborah regularly exhibits and takes commissions. Her artworks have been sold to customers in UK, Europe, USA and Australia.