“Everything has beauty if you look close enough, even slime mould”

Hi I’m Amy!

Here’s a bit about my art:

Inspired by the South Downs landscapes and the intricate patterns found in bark, fungi, shells, flowers and rock formations, I create one-of-a-kind drawings that celebrate the individuality of the natural world. Refusing to produce prints, I treat every artwork as a unique singular object, echoing the fact that nothing in nature is ever exactly repeated.

WHY I DO IT

In simplistic terms it feels almost magical to me that by putting seemingly plain objects together, like pens and paper a new thing is created that wasn’t in existence before, that came from my mind and my hand in response to my feelings about nature.   I find this exciting and extremely satisfying and always look forward to seeing what comes next.

Its my art therapy! The repetitive immersive process offers me complete escape, I find it meditative and calming, almost hypnotic.  It helps quiet my overthinking mind, the perfect antidote for the stresses of life.

I often listen to music when I draw, it sets the rhythm, allowing my mind time to wander, shapes to form organically and colours to be chosen intuitively. Unplanned colour combinations often take me by surprise, offering unexpected results.

HOW I STARTED

In 2019 I discovered the work of Ernst Haeckel by chance after finding a selection of his prints in a second hand shop (this was long before they were popular and sold everywhere). I thought his detailed illustrations of the natural world were incredibly beautiful (thats when I discovered the beauty of slime mould).  This ignited my curiosity into looking at the natural world close up.

This took me on a deep dive into the world of plant cell micrographs and I was hooked. I felt an immediate connection and became fascinated by the complex and intricate patterns in nature. to the shapes and patterns and the colours used were so uplifting. I was excited to find something so beautiful hidden beneath the surface in the natural world unseen by the naked eye.

I started to draw shapes, patterns and forms influenced by what I had seen and from my imagination always using rounded shapes.

I soon began to see things differently in my natural environment, noticing patterns and shapes on walks in forests, beaches and heathland, even in my own garden. I’m surrounded by valuable sources of inspiration that include, lichen and moss, shells, water and shapes on the shoreline, flowers and trees, tree lines, hills, landscapes and rock formations.   I now see patterns everywhere! All my drawings are influenced by these patterns, shapes and colours.

MY PROCESS

My drawing style has developed over time, learning what works and what doesn’t and allowing my natural instinct to determine the outcome.

Every time I draw it’s about letting the inspiration and feelings come through as I’m drawing, never knowing exactly what will be created. I prefer to draw intuitively. Sometimes I have a rough plan, knowing I will draw a representation of a landscape I have seen or in response to looking at the flowers or tree bark on a walk. Or perhaps it will be a desire to use a colour theme, so I select a limited range of colours but plan nothing more.

My drawings are in permanent, water & fade proof fine line pens, alcohol markers and paint markers on smooth Bristol Board or canvas.

WHAT IM EXPERIMENTING WITH NOW

Until recently Ive always used fine line pens and alcohol markers to produce detailed intricate pieces, using thousands of small circles, that take many hours to complete with the largest piece being A2. I have always loved the idea of upscaling in size and I’m now enjoying experimenting with paint markers on canvas with a vision of creating a large scale collection. Paint markers are perfect for their opacity and the wide colour range.  

RECOGNITION

A selection of my drawings have been featured in ‘The Women in Art’ exhibition at The Aspex Gallery in Portsmouth ‘24, The May '25 edition of ‘Artist Close Up’ contemporary art magazine, Long Listed for the VAA Open 2025 and Shortlisted for the VAA Art500 INTERNATIONAL ‘25.

THE FUTURE

I’m concentrating on building my collection for private sales and future exhibitions and am excited about producing large scale statement pieces.  I will be exhibiting a selection of landscapes at the Petersfield Arts & Crafts Society Summer Exhibition.

To see how my drawings have developed over time you can visit my Instagram account where I have shared some of my art since I first started in 2019. Find it here @circlesdotslinesdesigns (I don’t always post regularly as I’m busy drawing)!

…and a bit about me

My first love was nature! I was born in The New Forest, Hampshire (UK) and spent my early years climbing trees, examining bugs close-up and exploring the ancient forest through the gate at the end of my garden or beach combing for shells at local sea shores.

My second great love was drawing, my childhood neighbour and family friend was an illustrator and I was in awe of his ability to recreate the world around us. This was my first introduction to alcohol markers!

After working and living in London and backpacking to faraway places I went full circle and moved back to Hampshire with my own family. This is where I currently live now.

If you have any questions please get in touch I’d love to hear from you.

Feel free to contact me about purchasing my art, commissions or any projects I can help you with.