It wasn’t until the autumn of 1997 that I turned professional, dedicating for the first time, all of my energy into my art. I held a major one-man retrospective exhibition in the summer of 1998 entitled ‘All in a Life’s Work’, which was a personal selection of paintings representing my artistic journey. This innovative exhibition also featured a live concert by rock star Steve Harley, who has achieved major chart success, including the classic No. 1 ‘Make Me Smile (Come up and see me)’. I have always found inspiration through words and music and the creativity and poetic quality of Steve Harley’s music has strongly influenced my artistic development. I was honoured and delighted that he chose to support my work.
My paintings emerge from a world of imagination – a world of strange adventures and fantastic characters. These unique images are inspired by puppet theatre and are rich in pathos, humour and symbolism.
I have gained a reputation as a pastel specialist, although I also like to work in oils and other media. Fundamentally, I still see myself as a figurative artist and enjoy the challenge of a variety of subject matter, from classical nude studies to moody atmospheric landscapes. I am constantly pushing myself in new and exciting directions.
As well as my drawing and painting I also lecture art to special needs students based within the community. This is a challenging and rewarding addition to my busy life and a chance for me to give something back.
Art is my life, a passion within me. I feel that I am on a journey, a crusade creating new and exciting images, with diverse influences adding a unique and inspired view of the world.
The original source of inspiration for my world of imagination goes back to 1985 when I visited a puppet theatre at the Midland Art Centre. The wonderful assortment of strange characters, vibrant costumes and of the bizarre and unusual, had such an affect that it has stayed with me ever since. As an artist the whole subject matter appealed to me in so many ways.
In recent years I have collaborated with Craig Denston, who has produced puppets for display at my touring exhibitions and has also been a great source of inspiration to me.
Life is a mosaic of different memories. We all experience so many emotions from great joy to deep sorrow, from the nostalgic to the magical – these experiences are the source of my paintings, and are reflected in the many comical, bizarre and mysterious characters that appear in my work. I like to think that my paintings are imbued with a spirit, a lyrical inner vision and individualism. My work is always informed by a love of vibrant colour and strong composition influenced by artists such as Degas, Chagall and De Lempicka.
The imaginative and vivid decorations that enliven fairgrounds, amusement parks and carnivals have a never-ending appeal to popular imagination, and are another great source of inspiration for my work. The world of imagination and the colourful and enchanting characters that enter it, such as the clowns and jesters, harlequins and jugglers are predominately figures of fun and amusement. But they also hide a range of different meanings and emotions behind their masks; to quote Marc Chagall “I have always looked upon clowns, acrobats and actors as being with a tragic humanity.”
Other characters such as the Victorian Gentleman that appears in my paintings represent you and I and relate to everyday people and events. When explaining my work I feel its best not to give everything away, leaving it to ones own interpretation. I like to think I open the door for people to enter my world of imagination and make of it what they will.
So many ideas and images enter my mind that I have to constantly sketch out these initial images, or make frantic notes for future reference. I do little preparatory work, as I like to throw myself into the actual painting, full of enthusiasm and working from my imagination as much as possible.
Having chosen my subject matter I do a brief sketch, working out a strong composition and design, I like to work on a soft grey textured board, which allows me full control of the tonal values. I use a variety of different pastels, blending and drawing on the surface of the board, creating the vibrancy of colour inherent in my work.
You give part of yourself in every painting you produce, each image stands or falls on its own merits. I try to produce the best I can at any given time, I assess and reassess the painting at various stages, I prepare a temporary mount, to get a feel of how the painting will look in the gallery. On completion I have a great sense of achievement in creating something from nothing, from a world of imagination.
I can be found in my studio most mornings at around 6:30am, spending a few minutes assessing the previous days painting. With a strong cup of coffee to hand I adjust to the new day and get myself into the right frame of mind to begin the days work.
I teach art to special needs students twice a week. I find it very rewarding and I really enjoy this time out of my studio. If it’s a studio day, I like to put in long hours, giving myself regular breaks as and when I feel the need. This is often governed by how absorbed I have become in the painting itself.
Although you must set yourself targets and have great discipline to survive, I have been known to burn the midnight oil on many occasions, but on average I work until around 7pm.
I have a fifteen year old son, Mark, who I try to spend as much quality time with him as possible. He looks forward to seeing my days work and I value his reaction, assessment and support – we enjoy each other’s company and he is the most important part of my life.
In the evening I like to relax with a glass of red wine, and maybe the muse will arrive and bring with her new ideas and inspirations for future paintings.
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