I specialise in capturing the female form – subtle, classical nudes in oil, charcoal, graphite and red chalk.
My yellow paintings have become my trademark over the last few years, if you would like to read the story behind this click the link below.
Background
I was born in Henley but spent most of my adult life in London but also periods in Hong Kong and Dublin. I am now settled in Windsor.
I abandoned a successful career in publishing at the age of 40 to follow my lifelong passion.
I trained at Heatherleys School of Art and was then taught by Michael Clark, who knew Francis Bacon very well (and incidentally the only person to draw him in the flesh) – his wonderful tonal paintings and drawings left indelible marks on me and inspire me to this day.
I had been going to life-drawing classes for many years so continuing to use the figure as my subject was a natural progression.
My work has been included in the books ‘Images of Women in Art’ and ‘Musings of Miss Yellow’ and this year I was invited to participate in Sky Artist of the Year.
As well as being a stay-at-home Dad, I now paint from my Windsor studio and run my own life-drawing classes at the Windsor Art Centre.
Statement
It’s very important not to just fill a painting in and, in my opinion, what distinguishes a work of art from a painting, is the decisions made along the way – playing down or omitting unimportant bits and focusing on more important areas.
This way you can change the balance of the image – details from less interesting parts do not compete with the more appealing parts. The mind tends to fill in the gaps – as long as it is given enough information – and knowing the moment when you get to this point is key. The less is more principal.
Discerning Eye.
Home House 2017 (Joint Show).
Box galleries (London). Joint Show 2016 – ‘FORM’.
The Art Gemini Prize
The Affordable Art Fair
The Royal Pastel Society annual exhibition.
Foreign Correspondents’ Club (Hong Kong).
Chelsea Old Town Hall
Muralto UK Ltd (Solo Show)
N.B. Invited to Sky Portrait Artist of The Year (2022)
Books & Publications
My work has been featured in 2 books – ‘Images of Women in Art’ and ‘Musings of Miss Yellow’.
Media Coverage
Saatchi Online (Inside The Studio)