"Lillies with silver coffee pot and water carafe" Painting

London-born, I have lived in Surrey since the age of four.

After a twenty-two year career in catering managing the family’s small
group of Italian-style cafes, I returned to my childhood passion, art. I have always loved to draw and paint.
While in catering my spare time was scarce (and output was modest in
the painting department) though I continued to fill up sketch-books. I
did however manage to combine business and passion, in food
photography. During my degree, my work was a combination of
photographic images (film not digital) and silk screen printing, and as a
competent photographer I made all my own advertising food images for the
cafes and also worked as a freelance food photographer for others. In
my previous home I built a dark room for developing both colour and
black & white work.

Some twenty
years on, my artistic interests have changed. Then I was inspired by
Warhol & Rauschenberg. Now its Jack Morrocco, Rubens, Titian,
Boldini, Sargent and Sorolla. Its all about oil, not ink.

In
2013 I left the catering world and began painting full time. I have
concentrated on still-life and recently began to paint en plein-air.

I usually spend six to twelve hours to set up a new still-life
arrangement. As my work has progressed my attention to detail has also
developed and I
pay particular attention to lighting. I like to create deep shadows
full of interest and bright highlights. Light and its affect on form is
my inspiration. My technique is based on the Venetian method of
painting.

I start with a dark brown ground colour; I then sketch out my
arrangement with white chalk and strengthen this with white paint
producing my under-painting. Then begins the over-painting: layer upon
layer of very thin glazes, sometimes up to fourteen layers to achieve
the desired tone. Lastly, thick buttery impasto.

I do not use any glaze mediums, thinners or dryers, only refined
linseed oil.