I like to draw and paint those ordinary things and activities that I am most familiar with . . . but my subject is usually chosen because, at a deeper level, there is something within it that feels vital to me. In retrospect I see a painting like 'Tumble', which depicts about twenty sheep huddled precariously together, to be a private metaphor for the fears and anxieties I was experiencing back in the early 1990's.
This large oil painting was made on my return to the UK from the Falkland Islands. 'Palenque' (Spanish: meaning 'arena' or 'palisade') is the name the Islanders have for the structure in the painting. Enormous Turkey Vultures, with their incredible sense of smell, are attracted to the curing carcass of beef from miles away . . . but are kept at bay by netting draped over the meat. In the foreground are sheep skins, also hung out to dry - see 'Running Fence'.
Cooplands Bakery Residency (1983). A triple portrait of Sandra hand-linking sausages.
When I was at art school (Saint Martin's in London in the late 1960's) the National Gallery was just a few hundred yards down Charing Cross Road. I visited the gallery almost every day for a couple of years and steeped myself in European painting since the fourteenth century. As a consequence of this, whether I like it or not, my work is imbued with Christian iconography. With 'Father and Son', whilst not setting out to depict the narrative of the Prodigal Son, I like the thought that, at a subconscious level, that particular parable would add to the authority of the painting.
At Low Tide - made between 2013 - 2015 in response to the wonderful three Thames paintings by the late Michael Andrews.
Exhibited:
2025-26 'Twenty Five & Onwards' Rheged, Penrith, Cumbria
2019 'Drawn from Life' - solo exhibition at The Beacon Museum, Whitehaven, Cumbria
2017 'Clearing' - solo exhibition at Upfront, Cumbria
2015 C-Art Cumbria Artist of the Year Award and winner of The People's Choice Award, Rheged, Penrith, Cumbria
Analyst : oil on linen and painted between 2011 and 2015
Exhibited:
2017 'Clearing' - a solo exhibition at Upfront, Cumbria
2016 C-Art Cumbrian Artist of the Year, Rheged, Cumbria