About
Art and design have been an important part of my life for over six decades. In 1965, I was thrilled to be admitted to Kingston School of Art & Design, although my time there was cut short when I accepted a management apprenticeship with an airline, leading to a 35-year career in aviation. My passion for the visual arts however, never waned.
For many years, photography became my principle artistic outlet - first becoming a "street photographer" and after a documentary and editorial photographer, working mainly in Africa. I was appointed an Olympus Camera (UK) ambassador, and had exhibitions of my photo-work internationally.
In the 1990s however, I returned to painting and attended art classes with William Barber in Normandy and at West Dean College in West Sussex.
After moving to North Norfolk in the early 2000s, I began to paint the structural forms of old wooden working boats, such as the crab boats, that once plied their trade off the beaches along the coast near where i live.
I usually paint these hand-crafted boats as if they were "beached" - thereby completely showing their full hull shapes and distinctive "lines." Most often I paint them in small groups, representing in my mind the local coastal fishing fleet, each boat left "high and dry" on the sands and leaning at drunken angles. My artworks have been described as "modernist" in style, with flat planes of colour surrounding the boats to allow the boat's shapes to be clearly appreciated and be represented as "art forms" in their own right - which I believe they are.
To me, these old working boats evoke a sense of nostalgia to more simpler times, when boat building skills were passed down by families through generations - and when coastal tourist towns such as Cromer and Sheringham were just small fishing villages.
I'm lucky to be a Friend and volunteer at Rescue Wooden Boats, at nearby Stiffkey, along the North Norfolk coast. This wonderful charity aims to preserve these old "crabbers "and "whelkers" - in working order if possible. It's a great resource and inspiration for me to see these boats at close hand - and to make sketches and take photos during their maintenance or restoration process.
I exhibit my paintings mostly in Norfolk and Suffolk - and permanently at my Gallery in Hindringham in Norfolk (NR21 0PT). Visitors are welcome to visit by appointment. I also participate in North Norfolk Open Studios each year. My artworks are available for sale online on this site. For enquiries please contact me using the "contact" page.
For many years, photography became my principle artistic outlet - first becoming a "street photographer" and after a documentary and editorial photographer, working mainly in Africa. I was appointed an Olympus Camera (UK) ambassador, and had exhibitions of my photo-work internationally.
In the 1990s however, I returned to painting and attended art classes with William Barber in Normandy and at West Dean College in West Sussex.
After moving to North Norfolk in the early 2000s, I began to paint the structural forms of old wooden working boats, such as the crab boats, that once plied their trade off the beaches along the coast near where i live.
I usually paint these hand-crafted boats as if they were "beached" - thereby completely showing their full hull shapes and distinctive "lines." Most often I paint them in small groups, representing in my mind the local coastal fishing fleet, each boat left "high and dry" on the sands and leaning at drunken angles. My artworks have been described as "modernist" in style, with flat planes of colour surrounding the boats to allow the boat's shapes to be clearly appreciated and be represented as "art forms" in their own right - which I believe they are.
To me, these old working boats evoke a sense of nostalgia to more simpler times, when boat building skills were passed down by families through generations - and when coastal tourist towns such as Cromer and Sheringham were just small fishing villages.
I'm lucky to be a Friend and volunteer at Rescue Wooden Boats, at nearby Stiffkey, along the North Norfolk coast. This wonderful charity aims to preserve these old "crabbers "and "whelkers" - in working order if possible. It's a great resource and inspiration for me to see these boats at close hand - and to make sketches and take photos during their maintenance or restoration process.
I exhibit my paintings mostly in Norfolk and Suffolk - and permanently at my Gallery in Hindringham in Norfolk (NR21 0PT). Visitors are welcome to visit by appointment. I also participate in North Norfolk Open Studios each year. My artworks are available for sale online on this site. For enquiries please contact me using the "contact" page.