From the age of about six I had a keen interest in painting and was always pestering Dad to help me paint something in my sketch book every day after school. I recall doing ghastly sunsets behind Stonehenge - I still have them! I was a loner at school and always found comfort looking at books about animals. I recall having the feeling of wanting to escape to these amazing peaceful places.

I continued enjoying art during the remainder of my school days. In 1978 I went on to study technical art at college in Cornwall. The plan was to sit in a stuffy office drawing nuts and bolts! My big inspirational break came in the form of a TV programme. I saw a film about the work of renowned wildlife artist David Shepherd. This was so inspiring for me that, from that moment, I was hooked - I would become a great artist!


























A brief spell working for advertising agencies followed college. From there I spent a few years working for galleries in the Bournemouth area and gradually let illustrating take a back seat while I concentrated more on painting. In 1990 I turned to painting wildlife full-time and my passion for this was endorsed by my first ever one-man exhibition. Half the paintings were sold on the opening night with most of the remainder selling during the show. Shortly after the show, I embarked on my first trip to Africa. I have been going back there ever since.











Me with the Masai during my visit to the Masai Mara in 2007.  They are very friendly people and it struck me how happy they are with very little in the way of material possessions.  I feel sure we could all learn a lot from these people.



















I now visit Africa on a regular basis and I know I will always come home with some new exciting images. In addition to Africa, I have done two commissions for the British Army Air Corps, one in Germany and the other shortly after the conflict in Bosnia. I spent a week with them flying around the old war zones in search of painting subjects - the Lynx and Gazelle helicopters. Both paintings are hanging in the Officers' Mess at their base in Middle Wallop, Hampshire.

The chief area of art for me now is African wildlife.  I am driven by anything that is visually powerful.  I have a huge passion for art and love to create a tactile picture with the textures I obtain from oil paint.  In many cases, it is the art itself which is the big attraction - animals being the main part of the story. One thing I have never lost is my own self-belief.  I love what I do and I believe that all challenges in life are put there to make you stronger!