In the Heat of the Sun 1 Painting

My father was a draughtsman and when I was very young I would watch him drawing. He moved his pencil across the paper with such ease and how these graceful actions resulted in a recognisable object entranced me. I wanted to be able to do that. So at school I always looked forward to Art Class. I loved everything about it; the art room with its big windows, pictures stuck on the walls and pictures on drawing boards leaning against the walls, pots of paint, tins of coloured chalks, pencils, brushes, the piles of paper, old easels, aprons smeared with colour, the smell of the room and the pure joy of creating a picture the whole thing seduced me. Art was my best subject at school and so after my A levels I went on to take a foundation art course prior to doing a degree. Six months into the foundation course my mother decided I should leave to get a “Proper Job” For the next twenty years I worked in magazine publishing and marketing. I hated every minute of it but stuck at it through a sense of duty to my parents. Ironically I was successful and finally had my own marketing company in London but loathed the stress and pressure. Finally a major disagreement with my business partner tipped me over the edge. I felt that “enough was enough”. I sold out of my share of the business and spent the best part of two years in India. I had the time of my life. I discovered freedom in this rich cultural melting pot and my experiences there led me to writing and eventually painting – the very thing that I had always wanted to do and I decided that I owed it to myself to give it a shot full time. I rented out my London flat and took myself off to Andalusia for three years where I lived cheaply and taught myself the rudiments of painting. In 2004 I returned to the UK and settled in Somerset where I continued to hone my art. It eventually paid off in 2008 when I had an exhibition in Cork Street Mayfair. Paintings flew off the walls and I gained London Gallery representation with Quantum Contemporary Art. This afforded me exposure for my work across Europe and the USA where my paintings can be found in private collections.In 2010 I set up home in rural France and converted a rundown old barn in my garden into a dream studio. Things were going well . . . until in 2013 when I was diagnosed with cancer of the jaw and I was on my way back to the UK for treatment.