Hi, I’m Gem.

I’m an artist, former portrait photographer and lifelong observer of people.

For years, my creative world was all about precision. I photographed faces, drew in painstaking detail and tried to capture exactly what I could see.

Then I picked up oil paints — and something shifted.

I stopped trying to make everything perfect.

I started painting faster, using bigger marks, unexpected colour and instinct instead of control. And somewhere in all that glorious mess, I found the way I really wanted to paint.

Now my work is full of faces, colour and character. I’m drawn to women with presence — an expression, a gesture, a look that makes you wonder what has just happened or what she might be thinking.

My background in portrait photography still finds its way into everything I make. I’m fascinated by the moments between the poses: a hand lifted to a face, a distant stare, an awkward movement, an expression that disappears a second later.

But instead of faithfully reproducing the photograph, I use it as a starting point.

Then I let the paint take over.

Hot pinks. Turquoise. Acid greens. Reds. Visible brushstrokes. Lost edges. Happy accidents. I want the finished painting to feel alive rather than perfect.

Same world. Different stories.

I’m currently developing a collection of expressive figurative paintings inspired by characters, imagined stories and my own photography.

There may be a story behind each woman, but I deliberately don't tell you everything.

I’d rather you decide who she is.

Some original paintings are available to collect, although I’ll admit I find parting with them surprisingly difficult. Selected works are also available as framed fine-art canvases, so they can find homes around the world.

This feels like a new chapter in my work — looser, bolder, more emotional and considerably less well behaved.

And I’m completely obsessed with it.

Gem x