Introduction

I trained as a painter before I trained as a conservator. I took a BA in Fine Art at the University of Leeds [check], then an MA in Conservation of Easel Paintings at Northumbria University, with additional training in conservation science. Years at the easel taught me how a painting is built, layer by layer, and that is still the most useful thing I bring to the bench. When I clean a painting or fill a loss, I'm thinking about how the artist meant it to look.

How I work

I do as much as a painting needs and no more. Every treatment begins with a careful examination and a written proposal, and nothing happens without your agreement. Everything I do is recorded, and wherever possible it can be undone, so a future conservator can understand the work and reverse it if they need to. Because the studio is just me, you deal with the person doing the work from the first email to the final report.

The part of the job I enjoy most is the end, when a painting goes home looking the way its artist intended.

Memberships.

Member and Treasurer of the Institute of Conservation (Icon), the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) and the British Association of Paintings Conservator-Restorers (BAPCR).