About the artist

"Painting is a poem without words." Horace I was first given a go with oil paints at about the age of 7 and have used them ever since. I think it was Ruskin who said that mountains were the beginning and the end of landscape. They certainly got me going! I paint in oils, preferably en plein air. These paintings are higher priced, the fortunate result of a coincidence of opportunity, fair weather and my developing skill. Perhaps it’s true to say that they cannot be repeated. The lower-priced paintings were made in the comfort of the studio, but prices may also reflect the length of time taken with some subjects. I find the Buttermere, Crummock and Loweswater valleys especially attractive and I like to cycle out to paint en plein air whenever I can. I call the results "oil sketches", and think they can possess subtle colours and a feeling of spontaneity. The coasts of Britain and Ireland, music and the theatre also get me going, as does the magic and nostalgia of steam railways, a genre of painting I have attempted more recently. “But you know all pictures painted inside the studio will never be as good as the things done outside.” Paul Cezanne