"The Masked Ball" Painting

Born in Leicester, England, where I still live. I have always drawn and painted portraits and animals - horses being my passion - from quite a young age. Trained as typographic designer, most of my life has been spent in artistic environments and for many years I worked restoring oil painting and frames, thoroughly enjoying this. Circumstances then changed, giving me the opportunity to return to my first love of painting, this allowed me the freedom to experiment and work in a looser more vibrant style. I am fascinated by movement and colour, from the power and grace of horses to the sensuality of Latin American dance. My paintings are spontaneous, coming from an instinctive response to colour, emotion, mood and drama. An image often emerges from the first stokes of paint that I lay down on my support, usually watercolour paper or canvas and acrylic paint, from which I develop ideas. Allowing the paint to take over can often bring surprising results. I am still amazed and continue to experiment , finding every painting to be a unique experience.