I grew up with a pencil in my hand and studied art at Grammar School. Having got an A at O level I and my art teacher were somewhat surprised by a D at A level. I suspect my main submission was too Pre-Raphaelite for the examiners.

​

At Medical School I drew caricatures of professors, lecturers and students alike for the School’s student newspaper. I suspect the combination criticism by the writers of teaching styles and my exaggeration of physique led to an early ban of the paper by the University.

​

A career as a surgeon and family life fully occupied me until early retirement 10 years ago. Apart from flat washes on botanical drawings I had never learned to properly use watercolours. So here was a project that has occupied me for the last decade – and still does. My watercolour teacher, mentor, and friend, Steven Coates, helped me to enjoy the challenges of watercolour painting and its frustrations. And that is why I paint, because I love to. Other major influences include Edward Seago and W. Heaton Cooper.

​

And what do I paint? Landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes feature heavily in my work. Flowers and animals, still life, portraits less so. But I enjoy the challenges of each genre equally. And though most of my work heads towards realism I do love to let go and make a really loose image.