I am a now a retired lecturer and educator, however I continue to work as an artist – as a painter and printmaker. I received my Fellowship in 1987 for travel to Australia as an artist and teacher. I had long been fascinated by Australia, a country which in the 1980s was actively opening up to the world culturally in all art forms.

In addition to travelling extensively, lecturing, mentoring students and discussing alternative approaches to art education with other artists and teachers, I was able to work continuously on my own artwork, and was constantly inspired by the landscape, the flora and fauna, the folklore and customs, all of which I recorded in my travel journals, sketchbooks and photographs. Aboriginal art was beginning to be recognised, and I was able to meet Aboriginal artists and learn more about the language of their work.

On my return to the UK, I had a major exhibition of the artwork I had made on my visit to Australia in addition to the many paintings I made subsequently in my studio on my return. The Fellowship has enhanced my career as an artist, as an educator and as a person, and I will always regard my Australian experience as a turning point in my life.