About Jo

Part-time designer, part-time artist, part-time coach and full-time dog owner. Everyone tells me I do too much. They're probably right, although Missy would argue I still don't dedicate enough time to sitting on a wall somewhere with her.

I seem to have built a life around contrast. One minute I'm untangling complicated problems at work, the next I'm on the beach with Missy, coffee in hand, getting blasted by the Worthing wind.

I've always been happiest when I'm making something or exploring somewhere new. I've moved around a lot over the years and I've loved every chapter. New places, new people and new ideas seem to keep my creativity alive.

"Looking back, I think I peaked at seven"

I've been making art for as long as I can remember. It all started with colouring competitions in my hometown of Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. I only went and won a plastic tennis racket and, a few years later, a SEGA Mega Drive. It was a strong start. Looking back, I think I peaked at seven.

Colouring in became Stroud Art School, then a Fine Art degree at Plymouth University. I briefly flirted with becoming a very serious artist. Thankfully, that phase didn't last. I just wasn't built that way.

Bristol's creative spirit probably shaped me more than anywhere else. I swapped artwork for gig tickets and pints, had my first solo exhibition at the Tobacco Factory and learnt that creativity is much more fun when you stop worrying about what everyone else thinks.

Looking back, I think I peaked at seven.

These days I split my time between designing digital services, painting and coaching.

All begin with curiosity and noticiing. All three are about people. All three leave me wondering what happens if we look at things a little differently.

My favourite part

I've exhibited in galleries across the UK, held solo exhibitions and taken part in art trails over the years. It's given me plenty of time to reflect on what I actually love about being an artist.

It isn't the exhibitions.

It isn't seeing my name on a wall like I'm the real deal.

It's you.

I love our conversations. The stories. Hearing what a painting reminds you of, where you'd hang it, or why you stopped in front of it in the first place.

I live in hope that the robot painting I did in 2004 is still hanging proudly in someone's downstairs toilet as an intended conversation starter.

Watching something that started in my studio quietly become part of someone else's life. That's the bit that never gets old.

So far I've had a brilliant, messy, unexpected life, and it feels like another chapter is just beginning.

I'm swapping Worthing's pebbles for Devon's sand, looking forward to new adventures, new inspiration and, if I'm lucky, a few more conversations between complete strangers.

"I'd genuinely love to hear from you."

So whether you're just having a browse, one of my paintings reminds you of a place or a person, or you simply fancy saying hello, I'd genuinely love to hear from you.

💙 Jo