Please enjoy a selection of my work from both my early days and more recently. Behind every piece there is a story or inspiration, I have not added them all on here but if you are interested in any of the pieces or would like further information please don’t hesitate to contact me.
EARLY WORKS – Acrylic on Canvas and other mixed media
‘Endless war’ – 1986 Acrylic on canvas
A journey to the imperial war museum led to this canvas. Nothing changes, man has been making war since the beginning of time, only the trappings of war have changed from spears and swords to drones and fighter planes, horses to nuclear war heads. Human casualty is always the same and the result is just the same regardless of the weapons. Will we never learn from this?
TROPICAL INSPIRATION – Warmth, colour and texture
CURRENT EVENTS – Climate change and the sad destruction of nature
‘Enough is enough’
‘Revenge 125cm x 85cm – oil on canvas’
Climate change and the diminishing sea ice inspired me to produce this piece. Where the polar bear is forced to confront man and the screaming ice shown by the fish shaped creature calls out, ‘enough is enough’. The plastic waste can be seen by the man’s hand as it strangles our seas. I apologies for the graphic nature, but I believe it shows the stark reality.
‘The Dying coral’ 2019 – oil on canvas with plastic
The model was in a lovely reclined pose on what was a bed of cushions and fabric, the notion was to change this to an underwater scene and the effect of the warming seas on the delicate coral reefs leaving them bleached and dying. I have used the plastic to show how prevalent plastic is in our oceans, so much so it has started to become part of it.
‘Who in the world cares – oil on canvas’
This is a large angry painting which asks who in the world cares! The creatures of the natural world are screaming at us, ‘man kind STOP!’. The planet is burning, jungles decimated by logging and many species going extinct due to poaching and loss of habitat. This is my message to the world, enough is enough.
OTHER PASSIONS and INSPIRATIONS – Tennis, cowboys and the human form
‘Lendl v Wimbledon’: – Mixed media (acrylic, pastel and charcoal) on paper 85cm x 60cm
As a keen tennis player I have played and followed the game since I was thirteen. It fascinated me to try and understand the different psyche of players. I was painting at the Camden Art centre during the period Ivan Lendl was trying for the final time to win Wimbledon. I was experimenting with abstraction and came up with this portrait of a man obsessed with mental perfection and training to the extreme. To play on grass is a special skill, and even with the expert assistance of Tony Roach he failed to beat Pat Cash and his volleying skills. Here is a man they called ‘Skull face’ trying to tear himself apart trying to win the elusive Wimbledon title.
“Physical Chess is the world of Grand Slam tennis”
‘Pain and Glory’: – Oil on canvas
Physical chess is the world of Grand Slam tennis. When Andy Murray emerged at Queens Club aged 18 he showed us he had the heart of a champion, unfortunately left laying on the grass with cramp and with body still to mature to that level of competition. I followed his progress as I did with Lendl. Every year we, in the UK, looked for a Wimbledon champion. It was to come in 2013 under the watchful eye of Ivan Lendl. Murray could cope with the strict training and had great skills on grass, but needed to learn the mental toughness of being the grand slam champion in front of a home crowd. A crowd craving a champion for 70 years. When he won that year, I had to paint my follow on tennis painting from Lendl’s loss in 1987 to Murrays win in 2013 and 2016. Watch those grey brain cells working from mind to eye.
