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Through exploring the fascinating and infinitely variable world of botanical colour, the process of herbal dyeing also plays a huge role in the creation of my work. The unpredictability of this process means that I have little to no control over the outcome, with nature being the guiding force in the creation of this stage of the work. Gathering and foraging for plants is also a crucial part of the practice, using nature as inspiration, as material and as process. Each canvas has been hand dyed with various plants - madder root, pomegranate, elderberries, onion skins and marigold flowers, to name but a few - then stretched onto a wooden frame, highlighting the delicate folds and creases and subtle variation of colour. This is then painted over and into using organic earth based pigments mixed with linseed oil (as opposed to tubes of oil paint). I allow the markings in the dyed canvas to guide the paintbrush as I work from here, following the subtle patterns which reflect those in the natural world, and bringing them to life.