Biographical Information
I have always drawn inspiration from landscape and the human form and like to work directly from life.
Growing up in St.Ives I became interested in the work of artists such as Ben Nicholson and Peter Lanyon and started life-drawing at the St.Ives School of Painting at an early age.
At art school I focused on the Cornish landscape, the human figure and self-portraiture. At university I pursued these interests by specialising in European art at the turn of the century and the representation of the body in contemporary art and culture.
In my London studio I painted the male nude on large-scale canvases, still-life and the urban landscape.
My painting has taken me on more and more extensive journeys to far-flung places to find “the view”. I am attracted to remote, unspoilt locations with big horizons and in particular to islands. My immersion in a place is a vital part of the creative process and my viewpoint is often difficult to reach.
I work in oil on canvas and paper and with mixed media- tempera/pastel/pencil/marker-pen on paper. Colour and structure are fundamental in my picture-making.
1998-2006 Extensive travels with sketchbooks and canvas to Thailand, Indonesia, Greece, Turkey, Laos, India, Cornwall and France with exhibitions in London, Brighton, Greece and Cornwall.
1993-1998 London cityscapes, life-painting and landscape painting in Cornwall and Provence with exhibitions in London. Various painting courses at Central St.Martin’s and City Lit in London.
1990-1993 History of Art BA hons at Manchester University.
1989-1990 Art foundation at Falmouth School of Art.