My journey from scuba diving novice to PADI Divemaster, ocean advocate and marine artist.

When did you start scuba diving?

I was one of those divers that unfortunately had a disastrous experience the first time I tried scuba diving. It was during a boat trip off the coast of Cairns, Australia. We were given a briefing (which I was sea sick through most of!), were kitted up without knowing what anything was, and were pretty much pushed off the back of the boat. In short, I was terrified, spluttered a lot, lost a contact lens, and was only underwater for about 5 minutes. Not an experience I want to repeat nor wish anyone to have to go through.

A few years later, on holiday in the Cook Islands, I decided to give it another try. By the end of the trip I had completed the PADI Open Water!

How did you become a Divemaster?

Since our trip to the Cook Islands, almost every holiday we have been on has involved scuba diving. Utila is a small island off the coast of Honduras and is home to many dive shops and an array of marine life, from whale sharks and dolphins to seahorses, nudibranchs and teeny tiny squid. It was here, in Utila, that I completed my PADI Divemaster with UDC. If you’re thinking of doing the Divemaster (or any other diving course) I highly recommend them and would be happy to answer any questions you have about diving there - just drop me an email.

So back to the artwork… why paint sea life?

Naturally, most artists are drawn to creating artwork inspired by the things they love. This can be anything from a particular subject, landscape, medium or colour scheme. Personally, I am inspired by all things in nature (except spiders!) and I have always loved swimming and the ocean. Being away from the sea for so long over the last few years has had a big impact on my creativity. It made the allure of painting ocean based pieces even stronger and made me more determined to share them with you.

Juvenile Regal Angelfish watercolour painting.

What have you painted so far?

I have painted some traditionally ‘pretty’ fish - juvenile angelfish, parrotfish and sunset wrasse to name a few, as well as the ‘weird fish’ such as cuttlefish, trunk fish, porcupine fish and cowfish. You can find many of these and more featured in my other blog posts as well as in my online shop.

Shop

Cowfish and Trunkfish watercolour painting.

I have also created patterns and prints from many of these watercolour paintings, by combining them with elements of digital illustration.

Pink Hermit Crab pattern - combining watercolour with digital illustration.

Will you continue to paint ocean inspired artwork?

Yes! I can comfortably say I am both a Divemaster and an Ocean Artist, and without a doubt will continue to paint and create artwork influenced by the creatures I see underwater.

Through my artwork I hope to influence change - change in people’s habits and actions around caring for the planet, as well as change in people’s beliefs about certain creatures (I’m thinking sharks first and foremost!)

This Spring I hope to go diving once again. I already have a plethora of ideas for a new collection, but of course that may change once my eyes are below the surface once more!

In the meantime, take a look at my Ocean Collection.

Ocean Collection