Say the word ‘studio’ and most people picture the same thing: an easel, half-finished canvases propped against the wall, maybe a smell of turpentine. Say ‘illustrator’ specifically, and you might add a stack of picture books, or a wall of pet portraits.

Mine looks nothing like that.

I was attracted to illustration as a career in part because of the variety of things illustrators do. Illustration is all around us: on products we buy, in newspapers, magazines and books that we read, on advertising hoardings and public transport, as wayfinding tools in the places that we live… the list goes on and on!

I'm a total magpie — always looking for the next shiny thing— so being able to pick-and-mix what I work on really appeals to me. In the last five years of working as an illustrator I’ve tried all sorts of things, but have gradually settled into three main areas of work: commissions (increasingly for organisations rather than private clients), creating self-initiated work to sell (originals and products, online and at markets and events) and teaching.

So when I open my doors for Berwick Open Studios on 26–27 September here's roughly what you'll find instead.

In January 2026 I was approached to design the anchor illustration for a new campaign called A Ride for Life — a public engagement project encouraging people to care about the natural world for their own health and wellbeing, and as part of the fight against climate change.

The brief called for a single illustration incorporating at least 20 key species across sky, land and sea, people enjoying the natural environment, and the campaign title, all legible at a printed size of 36 x 25cm, as it was going to be mounted on the client’s bike as he rode around the North York Moors National Park…