Born in Stanmore, Middlesex, England, in 1938, I was interested in drawing as a child, as were most children. I assumed however that the frequent bouts of corporal punishment inflicted on me by all of my art teachers testified to my under achievment in this subject!
On leaving school I trained as a development metallurgist, a subject for which I initially showed a real interest. In my work place I was always regarded as 'arty' due to my predilection for long scarves and a duffle coat and for my somewhat bizarre habit of carrying my trumpet around with me, an instrument that I only succeeded in playing extremely badly!
Slowly realising that the possibilities of me becoming a Jazz musician were severely compromised by a complete lack of talent and a very hazy knowledge of chord sequences I searched further afield to satisfy my 'artistic' leanings and rediscovered my earlier interest in the visual arts.
By now my studies in metallurgy served only the highly useful function of exempting me from military service.,a form of slave labour I was determined,at all costs, to avoid .
When, finally, the threat of military service was removed it became evident that my metallurgical studies were severely interfering with my studies in art so I applied to Harrow College of Art and, in 1963, commenced full time studies as a mature student. This meant that in my first year I was the oldest student in the college and only marginally younger than the youngest of the tutors.
By the time I qualified 4 years later the tide of mature students had risen and in my final year I was by no means the oldest student. This new found immaturity is my only excuse for my fatal error of applying for teacher training that blighted 16 years of my life.
I went to The University of Newcastle upon Tyne simply because I was obsessed with the landscape of Scotland and the North of England and the post grad year of Art Education seemed a great way of continueing my painting studies without committing myself to a future of teaching. I do not regret my years in Newcastle, indeed I revelled in them on those days that were free from teaching and the landscape of the area was exactly of the type to strengthen my philosophy on art which was deeply bounded in Gestalt theories of perception.
These concepts I still hold firm in my mind,although,in my declining years the original fervour is harder to maintain.
I was the Head of Art in two succesive Comprehensive schools but in !983 my wife and I made our bid for freedom and arrived in Mijas, near Malaga, in beautiful, mountainous Andalucia.
Since then I have made a life, with moderate success, as a fulltime professional painter, albeit with the supplement , in leaner times , of some part time teaching, but mainly of adults. I will not bore you with a list of my exhibitions as, if your curiosity is sufficiently aroused you can find details in my c.v.
My painting has always entailed mixed techniques and the idea of completion propounded in gestalt ideas on form. I have produced, in a deviation from my largely landscape ridden career ,a series of portraits of my iconic heroes and these can be viewed on my web site along with my other work.
My present work , whilst still clearly related to landscape is in fact now returned to the completely abstract. Where before much of my work referred to actual places, they are now entirely products of my mind and indeed hark back to the crystallography and topography of my days as a metallurgist
As you get older it is said that you more readily remember the past than the present, Oh Well!
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