 I
am a British national, born in Yorkshire in
1961, and now based in North Devon, UK where
I have my office and studio.
Though I have always had a flair for pencil
and chalk drawing, I began oil painting at
the age of 12, studied hard, developed a talent
and practiced in every spare moment, enjoying
early regional competition success and media
publicity for my work in the North of England.
Fortunately, my tutors recognized my skill
and encouraged me to undertake both my Ordinary
and Advanced level art exams a few years earlier
than my peers, which I passed with the top
grades. Being financially driven at that time,
in 1983 I graduated in engineering and with
a passion to travel, I initially pursued a
career as a design consultant with various
International architectural companies, residing
primarily in the Middle East. Nevertheless,
an artisan at heart, I returned to Commercial
Art several years ago as a semi professional
freelance artist, and have extensively developed
artistry through exhaustive self tuition, my
website, galleries, magazine publications,
numerous shows & exhibitions
and 'burning' the midnight oil in my efforts
to master my craft, create the odd classic
and maybe one day a masterpiece. Who knows...
The style of my artwork is modern,
yet classical / traditional and occasionally
contemporary. The composition and technique
I use is influenced and inspired by the realism
and romanticism of my favourite post renaissance
Masters and their wonderful, timeless masterpieces.
Especially Bouguereau... Predominantly figurative,
the tendency of my artwork is towards carefully
composed anonymity, capturing the emotions
and self belief of the subject, rather than
characteristic individual representation. The
creation of figurative artwork not only depicts
the emotions of the artist, it transforms the
artist's emotions. Also, it is far easier for
all of us to carefully scrutinize figurative
artwork and judge its anatomical accuracy,
often creating a more personal understanding
of specific favourite pieces. My figurative
artwork, including portraits and nudes, are
sensual and sometimes tastefully erotic. My
ballerinas and dancers are passionate, moody
and emotional. My preferred lighting, shading
and contrast are dramatic. I simply adore light
and am fascinated with its arguably undue influence
on any subject. After all, without light, what
is art? Unlike the vast majority of past and
current artists, I delve extensively between
the extremes of highlights and lowlights in
my artwork in a chiaroscuro technique, occasionally
minimalist, often leaving the viewer's mind
to complete the picture and to add depth. I
always strive to create an atmosphere in whatever
I produce, at the highest possible quality
and using a knife, brush, canvas and a very
limited colour palette of oil paint or pastels,
usually alla prima, mixing and blending only
on the canvas!
I personally invite all art lovers of the
purest form, whether you're an established
or prospective client, a corporate buyer, an
individual seeking knowledge, or you're simply
interested in discovering more about my exclusive
artwork, to come into my world, enjoy my finest
works, and find out more.
Whether you're a collector, you appreciate
the creativity and value of fine art, or you're
simply an admirer of skilful and talented visual
arts, purchasing, owning and living with an
original artistic creation is an exciting and
extremely personal experience, be it a figure
study, ballerina, dancer, nude, a portrait,
or any other form of painting or print. It
is also both satisfying and fulfilling, a way
of seeing the world differently, seeing yourself
differently, opening and challenging your thoughts
to a different perspective and wider dimension,
arousing your senses and stimulating your mind,
let alone uniquely transforming an area of
your home to one that you can truly be proud
of. Art should be viewed, pondered, admired,
exhibited, proudly displayed, carefully scrutinized,
and in order to benefit to the fullest extent
possible, it should be understood from the
perspective of its creator - the professional
artist. This is obviously not always quite
as simple as it seems, though if a viewer has
similar feelings to me about art, he or she
will connect with my artwork and better understand
me. Art is a thing of beauty, not just an investment.
My website, galleries that display my artwork,
and exhibitions, should hopefully be a friendly
and enjoyable place to look at some of my artwork,
irrespective of whether you are interested
in purchasing a piece. |
