I am a professional Artist & Art Tutor living and working from my home based studio in the small coastal town of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland in the UK. I live with my partner John Graham who is a fellow artist and we have 3 Labrador retrievers called Storm, Switch & Haze and an albino ring neck parakeet called Casper.
Originally born and raised in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, I always enjoyed being out in nature, spending time just watching the local wildlife was always my favourite pastime and I became very attached to birds as an art subject.
Originally born and raised in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, I always enjoyed being out in nature, spending time just watching the local wildlife was always my favourite pastime and I became very attached to birds as an art subject.
I began my art journey back in the 1980's starting out with Coloured pencils after my aunt bought me a large tin of Caran d'Ache Supracolor one Christmas. Having been raised in a home alongside lots of pets, these became the main focal point of my work and I began pet commissions back in the 1990's which I still do to this day. In the late 00's I began working with Acrylic paints as I have a short attention span and their fast drying nature appeals but also because of the ability to achieve extremely fine details with them. For me, the quality of the products was the most importance thing but secondly as a vegetarian and animal lover. I wanted products that were environmentally & animal friendly too and so I began extensive research before settling on the Caran d'Ache Luminance & Derwent Lightfast Coloured pencils and for my Acrylics I chose the heavy body GOLDEN paint range. The surfaces I use for my Acrylic portraits are both made by an Australian company called Ampersand who make boards for different mediums but I use either the Gessobord or Pastelbord, both allow me to create even finer detail. If you wish to find out more about the products I use, you can visit my 'Artist's Tools' Page
Newbiggin by the Sea & Northumberland
Northumberland is a beautiful place to live with amazing beaches - one of which is a 5 minute walk from our house and we often take the dogs down there and watch the local wildlife. As a cyclist, Northumberland has some great cycle paths, rather flat in contrast to the ones in my old home town which is close to the stunning Peak District, and in summer we enjoy cycling up the coast to Cresswell & Druridge Bay with our cameras looking for reference material for our Art and simply enjoying the scenery, peace and tranquility. We are both bird enthusiasts and try and visit Cresswell at least a couple of times a year to visit the Bird Hide and photograph the Barn Owl that has become somewhat of a celebrity with local photographers. As Artists, photography tends to go hand in hand with Art to avoid Copyright issues, but we also find it very therapeutic allowing us the chance to study subjects in the flesh, taking in the surroundings for possible future compositions. There is an abundance of Wildlife here in Newbiggin and sometimes spot the odd deer running across the fields and into the trees on our afternoon dog walk as well as the beautiful sound of the Curlew calling and Pheasants disturbed from the undergrowth as we walk past. A few miles up the road is the QE2 park at Woodhorn, wild Red Squirrels can be seen, appearing quite comfortable around humans and allowing people to photograph them as they visit the feeders, thoughtfully set up by the staff. Much of this Wildlife will be seen in upcoming Art over the next few years.
Step by Step Art Workshops, Articles & Tutorials
Although the main part of my work is Commission based, I also have a dedicated website for Artists with Articles on Art products and mini Step by Step Art tutorials too. As well as writing Articles & tutorials, I also tutor Art workshops on a Part Time basis offering 1 & 2 Day Workshops in my old home town in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. These cover a range of subjects tutored in Coloured pencils, Graphite pencils & Acrylics and are available for artists of all calibre and none. I enjoy helping people to create something that they can be proud of, and my Workshops always include demonstrations alongside 1 to 1 tuition so everyone feels supported throughout.
I have written numerous articles and mini tutorials that cover other mediums and products such as pastels, oils and water based products that can be found on my Step by Step art website, click any of the links below to find out more.
