Biography

BA Hons. Fine Art (Painting) – Cheltenham & Gloucester University

I have drawn all my life.  There is no doubt I was a bit of a tearaway at school but my pen and paper always served to engage me.  I spent most of my early years on a farm in Northamptonshire where I learned to know and love the countryside. 

I left school as early as I could to become a welder.  Money saved helped me travel extensively throughout the world.  My trusted sketchbook in hand, I took in Papua New Guinea, Africa, Australia, India, Nepal, Hong Kong, China and Thailand.  I did this until I was 24 when I took the plunge and started my degree in Fine Art.

At college I painted, painted and painted some more.  In a world dominated by conceptual art I sought to find my own way at college.  This meant hours and hours in a studio studying techniques of the old masters and further hours spent painting outdoors in the Cotswolds landscape.  I consider myself largely self-taught.  However during my 20 years within the art world I have met many other artists who take time to share their vast knowledge with me.

So my style is a mixture of all that I have learnt plus the hours and hours of work in my study.

My Tutoring

Since 2001 I have been a tutor at Bosworth Independent College in Northampton.  I love working with young people, passing on some of my knowledge.  I also learn so much from them.  My tutoring is part time to allow me to spend my time painting.

Exhibitions

I have been fortunate to exhibit at galleries throughout the UK and at noted art fairs such as the Affordable Art Fair, Art in Action and Childwickbury Art Fair.  I hold an exhibition every 5 years where collectors can buy directly from me.  Please contact me should you wish to be updated on current exhibitions.

Collections and Commissions

My paintings are held in private, corporate and museum collections throughout the UK and Europe including the Bank of Austria and the Pomorie Museum, Bulgaria.

For many people they have a special place, a view that gives them joy and is full of memories.  This is often the starting point for a discussion on a commission.

People see my art on show at a gallery, art fair or at my own exhibitions and love it.  They say, “Could you paint something special for me?”

I love painting commissions.  Working with you I can create a unique painting.

Inspiration

It is hard sometimes to answer the question “where do you draw your inspiration from?”  It would be difficult to write down my thoughts and feelings concisely – I am truly a painter and not a writer!

I like to celebrate Northamptonshire, reflecting the beauty of the countryside and my observations of society today, a portrayal of the real lives lived by so many people. 

My Landscape Paintings

My landscape paintings are simple observations of the landscape.  I try to capture atmosphere, distance, seasons, light subtle colours, shapes and patters.  And skies…I love big skies under which wild spaces and solitude can be found in equal measure.

My Figurative Paintings

Here it is almost as if the work chooses me.  As I wander around urban settings I chance upon characters that have deep and personal stories to tell.  It is these stories I try to represent in my paintings.

While it seems oxymoronic to think of visual art as a representation of something invisible, a whole range of British art includes marginalized, disenfranchised, and often invisible people, groups and events in our culture.

It is these stories that draw me.  It is these stories I seek to make real and give voice in paint.

Sometimes the paintings are not pretty.  Sometimes they may make you want to look away.  Please look.  Please hear the stories these paintings tell.

Portraits

For many years I avoided completing portraits for people.  For an artist to try and capture the essence of some is a very difficult thing to do.

People look at my social paintings and remark that I have done portraits for years.  Well this is only true to a certain extent.  The people in my social paintings can be anonymous to me.  Also they are not paying me and this meant a sense of creative freedom.

However, in truth I was hiding behind this.  I have always believed to be a true artist you must be able to paint anything.  Realistically that includes portraits.