How do I make a painting? I begin with a rough drawing that captures an essence of a place, a person, an object, an idea. Realistic detail is lost but new shapes and ideas emerge in my mind, design comes to the fore.

I have two main guiding themes for my subjects. First, I regularly rework local views such as the river front in Abingdon and the Wittenham Clumps seen from the west. I also have made many versions of my “Downland View” which encapsulates my countryside: it begins with twisting valleys and spinneys in the Chilterns, drops onto the Wittenham Clumps in the mid ground and ends with a distant view of the Berkshire Downs.

Second, there is the human form. It is an endless journey to capture the human form and make an interesting statement. When designing a painting, I often make a collage from life poses, and I impose compositional ideas learned from the great masters.