Edgar Degas once said: ‘Painting is very easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do’. How true is that! Degas was a genius painter and a master with pastel, and his work has inspired generations of pastellists, me being one of them! My early years at Bath Academy of Art didn’t introduce me to pastel, as oil paint was the only medium on offer and with such inspirational tutors as Howard Hodgkin, Robyn Denny, Adrian Heath and Marc Vaux, it was difficult to see beyond the use of oil paint.
My first teaching post was as head of art at the prestigious St Dunstan’s Abbey in Plymouth. Subsequent teaching jobs were dictated by my husband’s posting with the MOD and I taught art in many different countries and educational establishments, from preparatory schools to colleges of further education, all of which helped me to broaden my appreciation of both the subject and my approach to teaching.
