Moving On Painting

I am a self-taught figurative artist, born in Morley near Leeds in 1965. My first introduction to art was at a very early age. My Mother worked as a life model at Batley College of Art and often took me along where I would sit with my own paper and paints. Throughout school art was always my favourite subject and one I excelled in but on leaving school my interest moved to photography. This became my main hobby for many years and in 1999 I did a City & Guilds in Photography at Dewsbury College passing with distinction. This led to a part time career in photography doing weddings, model and catalogue shoots for five years. My passion for art was rekindled in 2013, starting with a pencil drawing of my wife’s late Father. With a little encouragement I dusted off my watercolours and began to paint, moving on to experiment with acrylics before finally finding my favourite medium in oils. Art has now become my passion. My time as a photographer has given me an exceptional eye for detail, colours, contrast and composition and these are reflected in my paintings. I have always preferred to paint people, maybe influenced by my early years, and have the rare ability to capture a likeness which has led to me doing commissioned portraits. I particularly love the grace and beauty of the dancer and many of my paintings are inspired by the magic of the ballet.