Jo studied at Winchester School of Art for her BA, and then at Kingston University where she obtained an MA in Applied Fine Art.
Her inspiration comes from life itself, and her favourite subjects are wildlife and people. Recently she has been fascinated with people in an urban environment. Living so close to a big city, it is easy to observe and photograph people going about their daily lives. She particularly likes places which are busy and where people congregate, as a result her paintings have become increasingly busy. She aims to create work that is ambitious in scale and complexity and that encourages the viewer to take a closer look and get involved in the many characters. Her many influences include the work of Pissarro, Hopper and Lowry. She works in a variety of media but particularly like acrylic for its speed and flexibility.
Jo exhibits her paintings regularly and has been fortunate to have won several prizes over recent years. She has also been shortlisted for several major prizes including BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2011, Surrey Artist of the Year 2011, and Artist and Illustrators Artist of the Year 2013 and 2014.