"AN ENGLISH PASTURE" Painting

Artistic talent ran in my family though I was the first to develop my interest and skills and paint professionally. I cannot recall my exact age when I started to draw and paint though I was very young and remember asking for sets of paints as birthday presents. At school I frequently came top in art demonstrating talent from a very early age. My ambition was that one day I would become a professional artist. When I left school I went into estate agency where I develop commercial skills which also helped me in the art world. I continued to paint in every spare moment practicing and perfecting until after many years my first major breakthrough came when I began to paint still life, this enabled me to turn professional in 1996. In this period of over 20 years still life has continued to be my main genre and the one for which I am most well known. I have painted other genres including landscapes, animals, wildlife etc. won several awards and had work accepted for exhibition by leading art organizations. My contemporary realism still life paintings demonstrate timeless quality and appeal. They are not minimalist nor are they over composed. I prefer a fusion of classical and contemporary influences. This has been achieved by lengthy research and the study of methods used over the centuries as well as the most cutting edge. For example I use the ancient Euclidean compositional rules which creates great order and harmony in the painting. My palette and colour mixing is a blend of traditional earth pigments modern methods using only spectral pigments. This creates depth of colour and intense light and luminosity in the subject. I also attach great significance to the demonstration of the skills appreciated by the discerning collector. My paintings are detailed and realistic but never overworked. Elements which detract from the viewers experience are excluded or reduced and aspects which require increased significance are exaggerated. This is all part of my style and has been developed over many years. Most artists ally themselves to a particular group of like-minded painters and I belong to the “Realism” school. The movement places great emphasis on the development of true artistic skill and the creation of paintings of great beauty. My work hangs in private collections in the UK, USA and Australia.