What were your first creative outlets as a kid?

In infant school I think. I can remember ‘dissecting’ some flowers that we picked on a school trip and drawing them in detail. The teacher made me go to the headmaster with my picture… who must’ve liked it as I never got it back.?!

Where do you live?

Poole, Dorset in the UK… I love it down here on the south west coast – so many beautiful places.

Do you paint from reference, memory or imagination?

All three I suppose.. I used to paint realistically before progressing onto impressionism and eventually abstracts… So I used to paint from photos to get the detail. This taught me about colour and composition. It was vital in the development of my abstracts. I now work from imagined black and white sketches – but memories of the landscape are never far from my mind.

Do you prefer one more than the other, why?

Most definitely. I love the freedom of sketching an imagined landscape – I’m not bound to reality.

Your paintings seem to capture a scene at the perfect moment, do you imagine what the perfect moment is beforehand, or do you find the perfect moment in the process?

Sunset/rise is the most dramatic time of the day – so why would you want to paint any other time? It allows me to create a sense of drama and evoke emotions associated with this time.

When I start a painting, I don’t really know where the colours will take me…

I paint intuitively – adding colour after colour until it feels balanced.

How would you describe a sunset to a blind person?

I wouldn’t know where to start…

I’d ask someone good with words to explain it – I’m a visual person.

Your paintings seem to be either very abstract and expressive or hyper realistic.

Do you feel the need to find that balance between the two?

Once my work evolved into my abstracts, I didn’t really have a choice – I couldn’t go back to realism.. Once you have made that step – there is no going back.

Do you travel often? Out of every place you’ve been where has been your favorite

skyline?

I used to travel a lot with my work, but now that I love where I live – I don’t feel the need… I also have three cats to look after.

My favourite place in the world is right here is sunny Dorset – Weymouth…Which has been the inspiration behind most of my skylines.

What ideas do you try to communicate through your paintings?

Beauty.

What do you dream about?

I can’t remember

What do you want to learn more about?

Nothing – I never read any more.

Do you have passions outside of art?

Apart from keeping my body active and eating good food – no.

Nothing compares to the creative process.

What are your goals, is there anything else you want to pursue in art or life?

To live a healthy and happy life here in Dorset…

developing my style and hopefully becoming a little more established as an artist.