"Born to a large family in London in 1953, I grew up mostly in Harrow, Middlesex, England, save for a brief spell in the early 60's spent in the USA. My entire family left England then, and upon the fast liner, the S.S. United States, we crossed the Atlantic in mid-winter. For me that was an unforgettable experience. A seemingly endless grey ocean, strong gales that felt like they might blow a small boy off the decks at any moment, and the strangeness of living on a beautiful piece of metal, in the middle of nowhere. I can still remember the statue of Liberty, shrouded in mist, on that cold morning we arrived in New York City.
"We went to live in Kentucky, a very 'blue-green,' semi-tropical place in summer, full of unfamiliar richly coloured birds and wild life that was so different from England's. I went off to school, but eventually the grown-ups around me decided to return to England. So we did and once again to my delight I found myself aboard the good ship S.S. United States.
"We returned to Harrow and my life resumed its previous pattern, then, in the early 70's, I attended Harrow School of Art.
"Art School was not the place I naively expected. I went hoping to find and learn from a 'master' but of course, found not one among the tutors there. The 1970's were times of 'do what thou will,' but don't ask the tutors how old masters actually did it, because clearly they didn't know; couldn't do it themselves, and cared even less. Most of what I've learnt about honest art techniques has come from reading books and making countless trips to galleries and stately homes, and I say to anyone who wants to learn to paint, study the originals of masters first and get up as close as you are allowed.
"Like other artists, I suppose I am somewhat obsessed with drawing and painting and have been so since I can remember. I am interested in the work of many of the great painters of the past.
"To single out some names over others is very difficult, but those I come back to again and again are men like Gainsborough, Van Dyke, Bougereau, Millais, Alma-Tadema, Poynter, Lely, Moore, Boucher, David, and many, many more. As can be seen, my chief interest lies with the technically brilliant; the amazingly skilled."
