At Love Lane Junior Mixed, there was another seminal moment when my teacher, Miss Ackroyd, showed me a calendar of Van Gogh paintings. It was a revelation, introducing me to the powerfully expressive and supremely confident application of paint, the scenes representing something real and yet the depiction of them being entirely personal.

My paintings are collected and exhibited widely, with over 700 works held in private collections throughout Europe, North America and Australia. They form part of the Parliamentary Collection (see Art UK) and other bodies.

I’m known mainly for my use of watercolour, but also enjoy working in mixed media, pastels, oils, inks, and acrylics, collage and clay.

Most of my artworks measure in the region of 38cm x 48cm unframed, landscape or portrait, and are on paper. 

My academic career includes the publication of three books on environmental moral and political theory, including an award-winning monograph. 

I have spent time visiting islands, cliffs, the Australian bush, North American deserts, and reserves nearer home to sketch and document wildlife of all kinds, backing up my experiences with reading to gain a deep knowledge of my subjects.  The book jacket designs of the New Naturalist series in natural history have been a touchstone, with those by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis being my most cherished, with other wildlife art influences ranging from Bruno Liljefors to Kurt Jackson. 

My interest in painting as a medium covers a huge range of art not confined to any specific subject matter. I have been fascinated by many great artists from the working practices and sublime works of Rembrandt, Vermeer, Velazquez to the freedom of mark-making of Cy Twombly. All play a part in my sense of what pigment can convey.