I draw and paint. I have no message, no politics. My works are neither contemporary nor classical. Is it ART?
I have to escape from the UGLY CHAOS that is our present situation and I would like you to join me!
“Woodlands and Forests” is my 2022 theme.
I live in Milton under Wychwood and we have some of the largest trees in the village. From my windowsI watch an ever changing show. Now the empty branches are swirling and churning, or lit up by a dawn sun with light gold and grey layers or deep gold from the sunset. They then become clad in fresh green, deepening and then eventually going bright yellow as they prepare to fall and carpet the ground with crunchy mulch which eventually becomes rich loamy soil.
What is going on in the world seems already like history to me.
My “present” is an urgency to paint or draw and try to captivate the beauty and enchantment of our natural world, to hope the viewer will be moved to enjoy the peace and harmony that wild places evoke.
I studied Fine Art at Portsmouth College of Art and later continued in Rome & Florence; this lead to my living and working in the Mediterranean for most of my life. I also have made several trips to Africa to study the wildlife in their own environment.
I achieved some reputation as a miniaturist with exhibitions throughout Spain & in London’s Burlington Arcade. Subjects were mostly from nature; most subjects were portraits, all highly detailed using triple zero brushes. I was using watercolours on gesso which was later protected with special varnish and wax.
From 1982, in my Ibiza studio, I started painting full size in oils on canvases and boards with my first solo show in 1983 in Ibiza. In 1990 I had my first solo show at the Portal Gallery in Bond Street. London. U.K. The subjects were evocative, surreal and detailed; figurative paintings with creatures that exist (or perhaps did once,) set in unlikely surreal landscapes.
Other London shows followed in Bond Street, Kings Street, St James, and the Redchurch Gallery, East End. I was participating in Christies Wild Life Art Sales, South Kensington. These were particularly successful, especially my multiples, (4 or 6 panels per painting) depicting the wild life subjects, always in paradise. The first year of these Auctions was exhibited in the Natural History Museum, South Kensington prior to the sale. The Christies Wildlife Art Auctions came to an end after the year 2000.
I have exhibited in Chicago U.S.A., plus Madrid, Salamanca, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Valencia and Ibiza in Spain. My paintings are in collections worldwide including the collection of the late Duchess of Alba.
In 1999 I built a studio in the Cotswold’s. Since 2010 I have been living there, painting full time and ran a weekly Art class. Since then I am enjoying the freedom of being able to paint atmospheric landscapes in oil on linen or canvas and prefer larger sizes. My latest works are loosely based on the landscapes that have been a major part of my life. I am now also working in pastels and charcoal.
Recently I have moved my Spanish studio from Ibiza to the centre of a National Park in one of the wildest parts of central Spain. This is where the world famous Felix Rodriquez de la Fuente made a part of his documentary “El Hombre y la Tierra”. This featured fauna of the Iberian Peninsula including wolves, boar, deer, lynx and may more species; also birds including vultures, eagles and falcons.
I now have a permanent exhibition in this area and will spend winter months there. Winter temperatures range from -10 to 21℃ in a day and there are many dramatic weather events for entertainment.
My paintings range from 10 cm to 3 metres.