• My Work

    Painting: If Not Here Then Where

    This portrait of my partner repainted substantially in June 2024, entitled ‘If Not Here Then Where’, is a deeply personal one that aims to capture a time when we were not sure if our location was the right one (we’re still not sure). We’ve spent years looking for other places to be the ‘right’ place to live, but have decided…

  • Creative AI

    The Democratising Effect of AI Vs the Gatekeepers of Creativity

    Of course we understand that new and disruptive technologies have a divisive effect and undermine the established norms and structures that support them, that is why, by definition, they are disruptive. The advent of photography had the same impact on painting as the advent (and rapid evolution) of AI tools is currently having on a wide range of creative practice.…

  • My Work

    Sky Portrait Artist of the Year Experience

    Well it’s been a busy time round here and lot’s to reflect on in the past few months. Not much new painting at the moment as I’ve been busy on other projects but can’t wait to get back to it now especially after watching Sky Portrait Artist of the Year again. It’s fired me up and reminded me that it’s…

  • My Work

    Painting: Ghost Control

    It’s difficult to explain fully what this piece of work means to me. It brings together for the first time a series of threads that have been with me for many years and in a language that feels more ‘me’. There is a pre-cursor to this painting and an interesting little bit of synchronicity attached to creation of this work.…

  • My Work

    Painting: Portrait of Finn

    Around April time I started in earnest trying to cut down the time it takes to do an alla-prima portrait. My target was to get it into a three hour window. This one of those ‘training’ paintings. I started with blue acrylic underpainting and then used oil colour on top of that. You can see progress thumbnails below. Finn is…

  • Creative Process

    SCAMPER Your Way to Creative Excellence

    Creative practice is pure problem solving. The process of taking an observation, thought or emotion and making it communicable to an audience is a problem to be solved. As visual artists we often lean into the intuitive to the detriment of process. This is a shame because there are so many great tools and techniques from other disciplines that can…

  • Creative Process

    Power Up Your Creative Problem Solving: Overcome Obstacles with Confidence

    As visual artists, we face challenges every day that require critical thinking and creative problem solving. Whether it’s finding inspiration for our next project, dealing with the technical issues in our artwork or navigating the competitive landscape of the art world and the dreaded spectre of self-promotion. Despite all of this you might not recognise when you are problem solving.…