Artist's Statement:
Painting for me is about personal development. It is an ongoing process never to be settled, always being inspired by another aspect of my painting, particularly paint surface and mark making. The journey is from the paintings concept to final end result.
My subject matter remains as always about people and their environments, their body language, whether in bars, interiors, markets, restaurants etc, but also my interest has turned to landscape and coastal scenes, I’m at my happiest painting plein air capturing the moment.
Working Method:
WORKING METHOD
MY WORKING METHODS IN PASTEL ARE: -
I usually start looking for a Composition Design beyond detail, paying attention to Abstracted Shapes.
Sometimes I apply an underpainting of Watercolour or Acrylic or similar in a broad way, or sometimes just going in with pastel.
My preferred surface is mountboard or Corri-Cor Board (Acid Free) which will have pastel paste applied. Always starting with soft quality pastel i.e., Unison/Sennelier, building up patterner of paint.
Then working with Harder Pastel (Conte) hatching in destroying edges and adding texture. Finally adding some line and then fixing at an early stage.
This procedure will go from laying in with the soft pastel producing impasto effects, and then back and forth to hard.
I never fix at the end. By tapping the board it removes any surface dust.
National Exhibitions:
The Royal Water-colour Society, at the Bankside Gallery.
The Pastel Society.
The Royal Society of Marine Artists.
The New English Art Club
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water-colour.
The Royal Institute of Oil Painters.
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
The Royal Society of British Artists, all at the Mall Galleries London.
The Singer & Friedlander/Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition.
The Royal West of England Academy, at Bristol.
The Royal Academy, London.
Tutoring:
Dedham Hall Dedham Essex.
The Watershed Studio, St Osyth, Essex.
Tutoring Workshops in Rohoboth Art League Delaware USA.
Memberships:
1996 elected a member of The Wapping Group of Artists.
1997 elected a member of The Chelsea Art Society.
2001 elected a member of The R.I. (The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour).
2002 elected to R.I. Council.
2003 elected to The Pastel Society. 2008 elected to Council. 2011 Vice President.
2006 elected an Associate of The ROI. (The Royal Institute of Oil Painters).
2008 elected full member of the ROI. 2009 elected ROI Council.
2011 Honary President of Haslemere Art Society.
2017 elected President of the Wapping Group
Residencies:
1997 Invited Artist in Residence for the Petersfield Music Festival.
1996 - 1998 Artist in Residence at Petworth House.
2005 Festival of the Sea Artist.
2005, 2007,2009, 2011 Invited Artist in Residence for Guildford International Music Festival.
2019 / 2020 Artist in Residence at Alfred Munnings Museum.
Awards:
1999 & 2005 R.O.I prize winner Non-Member painter award.
2000 Pastel Society Annie Longley award.
2000 Royal Watercolour Society Abbott & Holder Travel Award.
2002 R.O.I. The Stanley Grimm Award.
2003 Pastel Society Unison Pastel Award.
2003 R.I. Llewellyn Alexander Award.
2004 & 2006 Pastel Society Daler Rowney Award of Excellence.
2009 ROI Cornelissen Prize for Painting.
2010 Pastel Society Ranelagh Press Award.
2010 The Bath Prize Best Oil Painting.
2010 ROI Le Clerc Fowle Medal.
2011 Pastel Society Unison Award, Pastel Society Anthony J Lester Art Critics Award, 2011Pastel Society The Arts Club Award.
2011 ROI DAS Group Award for a work of Distinction.
2011 Honary Mention Prize Plein Air, Easton USA.
2013 Pastel Society Caran Dache Main Sponsors Award
2015 ROI Cornelissen & Son Prize for Painting.
2015 ROI Dartington Crystal Chalice Award.
2016 RI Neil Meacher Sketch Book Prize
2017 Art in the Open Ireland Plein Air, Silver Award for Competition 2nd place Quick Draw
2017 Hertford Open Exhibiton, Best of Show Award.
2017 Spirit of the River Stour Plein Air Competition, 1st Place.
2018 Artist & Leisure Painter Great Art Award Patchings competition.
2019 Art in the Open Ireland Plein Air Bronze Award, Castlegate Quick Draw award.
2019 Cass Art Bristol Plein Air 2nd Place + Viewers Choice Award.
Publications:
Featured in WATERCOLOUR INNOVATIONS by Jackie Simmonds.
Contributor to the Artist Magazine. Artist & Illustrator Magazine, Paint & Draw Magazine.
Has work in collection of Surrey University.
