I was born in a tiny wooden cottage in Hertfordshire. Surrounded by acres and acres of ancient woodland. Filled with Beech, Birch, Oak and Ash. At the End of the garden was a giant Walnut and in the middle by a stream, a sturdy Willow. Growing-up these trees were my playground and I still remember each and every one of them even though many of them have long gone.

I was mentored by my mother Daphne Baxter, well known wildlife artist. and by Daniel Sammuels Greek Mythological painter. With an extremely good art department at school and then on to Hertfordshire School Of Arts in St Albans I kept painting even as I went onto other things.

At a young age I had two passions painting and gardening. After studying Horticulture i went from the garden to the kitchen and trained at the Savoy Hotel London and then went onto to work for the reputable Micheal Roux at the 3 Michelin starred restaurant The Waterside Inn. From there to Paris to work for a Relais Chateux Dessert Patisserie. Here sadly I witnessed its patron suffer a cardiac arrest. This deeply shook me and completely changed my career direction

I wanted to learn about healthy living and how I could help others achieve that. This took me to India to learn about the healing arts in Ayurveda, ancient body work and meditation. I returned to the UK and studied Nutritional Therapy and Chinese medicine.
After qualifying I set up a nutritional and Shiatsu practise in Hertfordshire and worked along side a Chiropractor taking referrals from a local GP.

In 2002 I collaborated with Hertfordshire County Council and began running Nutritional classes for primary and secondary schools. I designed and led classes for Young adults, parents and anyone who was seeking more advice and practical support towards healthy eating

Around 2005 I went to live in Indonesia and while my Son was studying at the Green School in Ubud I more fervently came back to painting. The rich vibrant flora and fauna of Bali captivated me and pushed me to become unafraid of rich bright colour. Here I deeply reconnected with ‘trees’ again. I began training in ‘active meditation’ and began intuitively downloading potent information from the trees themselves.

I continually studied the beautiful ceremonial Frangipane tree so gnarly at the base and so pure and divine at the tips of its branches with perfumed flowers blossoming all year round. The slim trunk of the papaya holding giant clumps of fruit that look too heavy to hold. And of course the coconut palms rising high into the sky.

Around 2008 I was offered a nutritional consulting position for a 5000 strong workforce on a copper and gold mine in Zumbawa. There was a 53% pre hypertension rate among the employees and along side a fitness instructor and Nouvelle frontier Doctor we delivered program after program to support dynamic change in health and nutrition.

I managed to improve the nutritional content of 15,000 meals a day and train both catering staff and ‘mine’ staff towards better and more health supporting eating habits.

All the while I would be painting and drawing the abundant Island flora around me. Learning about the native trees but also witnessing the brutal emergence of Palm tree farms destroying both the natural land and the health of its people.
Here I learnt the true meaning of ‘what we sow we reap’ and I vowed to paint the beauty of the nature lest we forget its vital importance in our lives

When I came back to the UK in 2012 I decided to work fully towards becoming a professional full time artist and took to learning as much as I could about the trees of our ‘green isle’.

Since 2022 I have been fully engrossed in painting the beautiful waterways, falls and lakes of the LLedr Valley, Snowdonia National Park. Water is now playing a very strong part in my work and I hope to develop this further as I head toward Finland to explore this further.

Currently exhibiting in The Saffron Warden Gallery, ArtWorks 2 Betsw-y-Coed

Associate Member of The Royal Cambria Academy ARCA, and The Cambridge Drawing Society CDS and the Visual Artist Association

Debbie Baxter. ARCA, CDS, BSYA(N.Th) DOM