Training:
Goldsmiths College, London
West Dean College, Chichester
Poole College of Art

Representation:
Solomon & Whitehead Fine Art Publishers & Distributors
Colin Neville Contemporary Arts

Exhibitions have included:
Dorset Art Gallery
Wimbourne Naked Art Gallery
Hampshire Cotemporary Artists Gallery
The Affordable Arts Fair
Chelsea Town Hall
Tavistock Gallery
Beaulieu
Riviera Gallery, Torre Blanc, Spain
Private Collections in: Ireland, Spain, USA, Canada, Australia and Holland

As a child up to the age of 16, art had been one of my main interests, but I lacked the confidence to pursue art as a career option. Instead I did a degree in History and taught this for over twenty years in different schools. However, around 1996 I began an evening class in watercolour painting and encouraged by my sister, I then embarked on a series of courses on many aspects of painting, drawing and various unusual craft techniques.

Once I began to tap into the creative side of me that had lain dormant for several years, the floodgates of ideas opened and I began to see everything as a possible source of inspiration. Whether walking along the beautiful coasts of Dorset where I live, observing the beauty of the human form as shown at my yoga classes, or noticing the shapes and textures of apparently everyday items, I find inspiration everywhere.

My pictures have developed from fairly conventional still lifes in watercolour and pastels through to silk painting, printing and collage. To date , my work is an eclectic combination of many styles. Perhaps because I have not been formally trained I am not afraid to experiment. In fact, some of my best pictures are the results of 'happy accidents'.

I have undertaken various courses, including silk painting, life drawing, watercolour painting, printing techniques and batik on textile. I aim to make my pictures not only visually stimulating but also challenging, as many of the figures and symbols I use are not immediately obvious.

Of all the techniques I have learnt, the most enjoyable for me is batik on paper, taught to me by Noel Dyrenforth at West Dean College in Chichester. This technique encourages vibrant use of colour together with a degree of iconoclasm as the images created are literally torn up and reformed to make something quite different from the original idea. The pictures produced have an almost 3D effect, like a stained-glass window, as well as the highly textured finish.

I paint for some, or all, of most days in my studio attached to the house. I also try to fit in a daily yoga session to keep me fit, both physically and mentally. When it's sunny I decamp into the garden and work amidst the flowers and birds.

Although I find that many artists have provided inspiration, my favourites are Chagall, Matisse, Hundertwasser, Klee and Gaugin.

In the future I would like to extend my audience, both nationally and internationally. I want to learn new techniques and I would like to travel more, especially to the Far East, to learn more about batik from the experts.

Deborah Vallance