Biography

Born in 1957 I have always been fascinated by the natural world and have had a compulsion to draw and paint wildlife for as long as I can remember.

My interest in birds probably dates from my early childhood spent in Singapore where I was captivated by the colourful tropical species in our back garden.

Back in the UK I also recall meeting Peter Scott at the Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust when I was about ten years old and his encouraging words for my hamfisted attempt to capture the likeness of a flamingo in crayons stay with me to this day.

I went on to study Biology and Ecology at University and graduated with vague ideas of a career in scientific research. However I soon realised that I was much more interested in the way the natural world looks than in any theories about how it worked.

I gradually started to get my illustrations published and built up a folio of work for a variety of UK and European book and magazine publishers.

In recent years I have developed a more personal and expressive way of depicting the natural world in my oil paintings. This looser and atmospheric approach acts as a kind of antidote to the precision of my illustration work.

I am very fortunate to live and work in the beautiful Suffolk countryside and much of the inspiration for my paintings comes from close to home.

In 2008 I completed a purpose built straw bale studio which is a truly inspiring work space as well as a classroom for my teaching.