ABOUT MIRANDA
I am a largely self-taught artist and fine art contemporary printmaker based in the beautiful rolling Herefordshire countryside in the UK. I am the 2025 winner of the h.Art Emerging Artist Bursary Award.
Most of my work is influenced by British landscapes and the nature within. I love to explore on my bicycle or motorbike with my camera, sketchpad, and magnifier, looking for inspiration which I often find in remarkable hill ranges, and in the lines and tracks left by generations of animals (including humans). My multi-layered compositions have a painterly feel with abstractions that hint at how living things shape the landscape, and they reflect how I feel about a place: its geology, history, weather and its occupants. I often force the perspective to establish features more obviously in the context of their surroundings. I also seek out wildlife that may be overlooked, or under-appreciated.
I am a former professional scientist specialising in insect biology. I produced scientific illustrations in my former career, but it is only in the last couple of years that I have hung up my lab coat to concentrate full-time on creating my own artworks professionally.
Techniques
My preferred method of printmaking is linocut. This is a 'relief' method (in which the ink sits on top of a hand-carved linoleum block). I use the 'reduction' technique, which means a single block is progressively cut away for each colour layer that I print. I often make prints composed of 3-8 layers of colour. These original prints have a looser and often painterly style and I hand-print each one in very limited editions in my studio. I have also recently started experimenting with drypoint etching.
For detailed, realistic painting and drawings I use a range of paints (acrylic, gouache, oils and modern cross-over mediums), ink, pencil & coloured pencil. I often use a mixed-media approach for artworks depicting wildlife.
You can read more about my techniques in the FAQ section.
Experience
I am a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacture & Commerce (RSA) and a Member of the Aberystwyth Printmakers.
I have recently exhibited my work at Artlandish: 'Harmony' and 'In Search of the Perfect Hill', both in Hereford (2025), Ironbridge Fine Arts Printmakers Competition Exhibition (2024) and Crickhowell Open Art Exhibition (2024).
I am the 2025 recipient of the h.Art Emerging Artist Bursary.
My commissioned biological illustrations have been published in various media including: The BBC, Oxford University Press, The Society for General Microbiology, The Scientist magazine, Microbiology Today magazine, Biologist magazine, and in East Devon District Council wildlife guides.