About the Artist

I was born in London in 1948 and moved to West Norfolk in the early 1980's. Inspired by the dramatic skies and wide open spaces I started painting in watercolour and have since developed a role both as an artist and as an art tutor.

The inspiration for my paintings comes directly from the landscape, wherever I am. I spend a lot of time just walking and looking, and as the miles roll by I become ever more in awe of nature. The raw beauty and power of nature and man's impact on it are recurring themes in my work. Whilst I have painted the landscape in all its different moods, I am drawn to certain themes time after time, including effects of light at sunrise and sunset, and the play of shadows on the land or sea. Sometimes the near landscape will be in deep shadow cast by clouds, yet the far view will have the sun's light playing on it, giving a glimpse into what seems a distant, magical land. As with innumerable previous artists, it is an effect of light that usually sparks my creativity.

I had no formal schooling in art, but somehow, and rather late, the idea of painting in watercolour crept up on me. I was very fortunate to get good adult tuition, practised long and hard, and gradually acquired the techniques that enabled me to make my dream of painting become a reality. These days the wheel has come full circle and I spend a lot of time giving tuition to others, in the hope that art will be as life changing for them as it has been for me.

I have paintings in private collections around the world, and have exhibited at numerous East Anglian venues as well as national exhibitions in Yorkshire and London. On several occasions I have had paintings selected for the Royal Watercolour Society's open exhibition, 21st Century Watercolour, at the Bankside Gallery, London.

How I work

I work principally in watercolour, although lately I have started using oil paints too.  I sometimes add ink to watercolour paintings, either with pen or brush, which I find gives the work an added dimension. The starting point for many of my paintings will be one of my photographs, of which I have literally thousands. However, sometimes my inspiration will come from a simple sketch that may have taken only a few minutes, or even just from my visual memory.

Having decided on a subject, I often make a preparatory pencil sketch of it, on a small scale, to establish the composition and where the light and dark tones will be. I particularly do this if I am working from photographs, as I find it very useful to remove myself one step away from the photographic reference, thus avoiding the temptation to follow it too slavishly.

Once I start to actually paint, I try and use the minimum amount of pencil work on the watercolour paper, letting the brush describe shape and form. I tend to work in short bursts on a painting, often no more than few minutes in duration. Between working sessions I leave the painting where I can see it, and find that after a while, which could be hours or even days, it will tell me the direction in which it needs to go. Sometimes a painting will take as many as ten short sessions of work, but usually it is three or four. Watercolour is a quick medium so the overall painting time is rarely more than a couple of hours and sometimes much less. Oils take a little longer, but I work pretty swiftly in that medium too.

One significant aspect of my work is the use of a very limited palette of colours. Most of my paintings have no more than four tubes of paint used in them, sometimes as few as two, but despite this it is possible to obtain many different hues by mixing. Limiting the number of colours used gives a great feeling of harmony and atmosphere to the work.

If you would like to learn more about my working methods, then I have a range of different tuition activities. Visit the tuition page on this site, or feel free to contact me for more information.

Purchasing original paintings

I currently sell my work either direct from my studio or from one of my solo exhibitions, of which I generally have two a year. See my events listings for details of exhibitions.

I welcome commissions for all landscape based subjects, so if there is a scene that is special to you, or someone you know, do discuss it with me. It doesn’t have to be Norfolk! I have painted views of the UK, Europe, and across the globe. To purchase or enquire about an original work, please use the information on the Contact page to get in touch with me.

Many of my original paintings are available as prints, and I also have a popular range of greetings cards. All these are on sale at my exhibitions, direct from my studio, or can be ordered from the shop on this site. If you don't see your particular requirements there, just let me know and I'll try and oblige.