Cerebral Bloom is the name I give to a series of paintings inspired by my mum. My mum was a dressmaker as I grew up, she made ballroom and latin dresses for dancers. My mum had a stroke followed months later by a brain haemorrhage. She survived. But for a couple of years she lost her ability to create. She had always knitted to relax and  she couldn't do it anymore. In between her stroke and brain haemorrhage my dad died of bowel cancer 6 months after his diagnosis. My mum and dad had lived in the same house for over 50 years and following my dads death and her recovering slowly from the brain haemorrhage I struggled to think of how she could cope surrounded by memories. I came up with an idea for her to press flowers. She loved her garden. I wanted to think that the search for a beautiful flower to press would give her some distraction and comfort. My mum slowly recovered. Two years later she presented me with the flowers she had pressed. The need for creativity which I share with my mum and was seen so profoundly when she lost her abilities made a big impact on me. Wonderfully my courageous mum recovered her talents and can knit again now.

The Cerebral Bloom paintings are created using pressed flowers, inspired by my mum, and painting with permanent ink on canvas, selecting colours intuitively to lead the eye around the canvas capturing the detail by carefully bleeding the ink. The process takes a certainty and decision before applying the ink to the canvas as it can't be undone. I choose bright colours that for me express joy and captures the beauty of the flowers. The layers create movement and depth.