Q: What inspired you to paint?

A: Where do I begin? The list is so long.  Everything. Music. Movies.

Musician; Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Mingus, Dexter Gorden, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Ennio Morricone, Max Roach, Max Ritcher, Adrian Berenguer, Vaughn Williams, Bjork, Lana Del Rey, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Luther Vandross, Billy Ocean, George Benson to name a few. Film and photography icons; Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge, Diahann Caroll, James Dean, Cary Grant, Teresa Greaves, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Lynch, Ridley Scott, David Nivens, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Young, Candice Bergen, Margaret Bourke-White, Man Ray, Lee Miller, Helmut Newton, Roy Stuart, Rutger Hauer, Lauren Olivier, James Earl Jones, Steve McQueen, Spencer Tracy, Catherine Deneuve, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Rachel Ward, Richard Harris, Oliver Reed, Ronald Reagan, etc. 
People; I find people very interesting, and places. I can lose myself in the energy and feel of a place. I also pay attention to details in objects,  situations, a piece of music, a smell, perhaps changes in my life, a feeling. I am constantly being inspired. I see how colours make people feel; they make me feel too; good and bag things. I see beauty in everything I suppose, but truly I never really knew I could paint until I dared put paint on the canvas.  As a child, yes I was somewhat creative and used to draw with pencil as most kids were encouraged to.  However, this was something that often made me feel good and I pursued it to a certain level until other things in life took precedence, like going to college, finding love, losing love and in a way finding it again, etc.  The bottom line - I had some oil paint, said why not? And the rest is history, as they say.
 
Q: Do you allow an audience as you paint in your studio?
A: Yes and no.
My studio isn't necessarily a particular place even though I paint mostly at home in my workshop. Something tells me to wait; to find a place or both; find a place and wait. When I do this, I hope I am prepared with paints,  brushes, canvas and an idea of where the journey of painting may take me. In these moments, a piece may take hours or in some instances, several weeks or more because some pieces can be layered in the moment and others have to be revisited to pull out particular colours on the canvas that needed more time to develop. If I am in one place, I don't mind.  This is not a distraction but more so an interaction because curious eyes about the journey is also inspiring.
 
Q: Does it get lonely painting all day?
A: No.
I am never alone in painting or writing. Even when there is a void, it seems as though the void is intentional like spaces or time left vacant between moments of inspiration. I either never think on things too much or I empty my mind completely and allow it to slowly be filled with what may be required at the time. Music and sometimes silence play a part in this; the scent of a candle or of nature takes me to places in my mind.  There, I see people or emptiness, things and objects.  And when I am transported back to myself, without words or instructions; I have a clear sense of what to paint or write, and when to pull away so time and timeless may take place to empty whatever voids need to be filled or left empty.
 
Q: How are you preparing for museum, gallery exhibitions or appearances?
A: I don't. At least not for the moment.
I am in favour of museums, galleries and fundraising benefit events, and the support they provide artists in showcasing their work, but I want to say that I prefer the singularity of my work when pieces or a particular piece is interpreted by a viewer and a larger audience. I feel somewhat that the flow is not muted or interrupted. I welcome the display and resale of my work commercially on the secondary market, but I don't get too involved in it.

Q: Which artists are you most influenced by?
A: The list is short.
Jack Vettriano, of course. He was the first artist work I collected when I took an interest in art.  I am also drawn to the use of colours by Todd White, Iain Faulkner and Sam Toft.  I would say that unless I know the artist, I am more attracted to and inspired by particular pieces of art more than what the stories the artists are telling.

Q:Where can I get prints of your paintings, or possibly originals?
A:On my site, of course and the secondary market.
I believe you'll most definately find a few of my limited editions prints in independent galleries and boutiques in Southern France, Japan, parts of England; particularly around  areas like Henley, Cambridge, Brighton, London and in Venice and Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California. Collectors of my orignal pieces are often philanthropic patrons who support international communities and cultural projects in London, Japn, Luxembourg, Solemeo, Italy, Margaux, Southern France and of course, here in Los Angeles. A few pieces from my new collection, Earthscapes 2025 went to benefactors in support of the recent Palesades fires, to which the collection was dedicated.
I try to limit the number of original pieces I make available for sale, except for a few dedicated collected collectors and institutions in Margaux, France, Brompton, London and here in LA whom supported my work at the very outset back in 2020. I believe this keeps my work undiluted. I am humbled and grateful to make available my work through my own publishing house/ gallery in London and LA and welcome resales from collectors on the secondary market for my limited edition pieces.
 
Q: How much time does it take to complete a painting?
A: This varies depending on the piece.
A small handful of my paintings were completed in one sitting.  However, the majority of my work takes days and in some cases several weeks. The process can never be rushed, as most artists will tell you. On the rare occasions that I take on a commission, the piece may take up to several months to complete as I find that I must travel between locations and these vary internationally.
 
Q: What’s your work-day like?
A: It usually starts with a large glass of water and a banana.
I ease into each day by clearing and cleansing my mind; emptying it of all thoughts, good and bad. I then plan, organise and prioritise units of time for activities which may include going for walks, exercise, organising and preparing paints, canvases, notebooks and pencils. I then contemplate the levels of discipline I may need to achieve things on my list before the day ends, whilst factoring time for general admin as well as communicating with or seeing family members and/ or friends. On the odd, occasions, I may go for a coffee and banana bread slice at my local cafe, The Canal Market just off Mildred Avenue on the border of Marina Del Rey and Venice, Los Angeles, California. On other more complex and demanding days, I spend my time in conversations with cultural institutions, patrons of the arts, auction houses, investors and philanthropists.

Q: Tell me about the textures in your paintings.
A: Textures give life to my paintings
Building, developing or forming texture is perhaps one of the more difficult, yet important parts of my work. It is an organic process that requires a great deal of dedication, commitment and patience. I want to say I not only want my viewers to look at my work in appreciation and interpretation but to touch it as it may touch them. I believe textures give depth to my work enabling some kind of evocative emotional transference to take place. To this end, I am extremely particular as I offer the same level of quality in my limited edition printed pieces, that are only printed in Oxfordshire, England then shipped internationally.

Q: What do you like most about being an artist?
A: The freedoms afforded in the complexities and complications of colours while being creative.
Art is a kind of madness, I suppose, like love. Throughout a lifetime, you may find it, lose it, find it again, appreciated it, take it for granted and do all sorts on the journey. Maybe it is blindness and the ability to see things that others don't as it uses you as a vessel or a vehicle to interpret or translate colours in a way like speaking one universal language in the world that is felt, not spoken and is understood without explanation.

Q: Do you do custom paintings (commissions)?
A: Only on particular occasions, in particular settings for particular clients, institutions or causes.
The process for taking on and completing commissions is somewhat more organic and complicated than my usual work. I must have a very clear understanding of the clients' motives for the piece, the causes it may represent and the time taken and space for hanging are non-negotiable as some pieces may need to be revisited before they can be considered completed or ready for hanging.

Q: How does living in Los Angeles impact your art?
A: My mindset has changed, and the deman for my work is far greater than before.
LA is an amazing place. That has to be said. Each place has a particular feel and energy about it. I am still myself, but I found that at first when my eyes were still fresh, I had to take a few steps back and slowed the pace of my thinking, my interpretation and perception for my new environment. All first impressions were and still are "super-positive", until I felt neutral because I had also become a product of my new environment. I am smiling more, and saying hello to strangers when I leave my house each day. My work feels more alive and proactive. Perhaps this is a byproduct of something awakened that was already there or something new that surfaced simply because it needed to. The increase appreciation for my work has been overwhelming and I take it in my stride with humility.

Q: What is the hardest part of creating a painting?
A: The first few brush strokes and colour blends.
The idea of a piece is secondary. The idea is formed and developed as the painting progresses. There is no real identifiable process or structure to how a painting begins or ends; everything happens between point A and B. Something in the madness of painting tells you when to step away, or what emotions to turn on to pull out certain colours or colour blends. It is a mixture of discomfort and satisfaction all at the same time. A kind of itch that you can't scratch, but if you wait a while, it goes away and become soothing.

Q: How do you know when a painting is done?
A: That is difficult to say. A painting is never really done because the idea of what it is or could be lives on.
A paint is done when the viewer gets it; understands the message in their own unique and quirky interpretation. If it speaks to them and they feel something or nothing but they are still contented and satisfied with the unresolved conflicts and idea, then and only then is a painting is truly done.  In some ways, that is the most difficult and complexed part.
 
Q: Are you glad you became a full-time artist?
A: Even as a reclose an artist must still live in the real world.
A full time artist means that inspiration isn't 9 to 5 or "choose your own hours" of work. You simply don't choose when or how to paint. The process is not that simply. You are committed to perform a service and there is no real retirement or vacation from that. The pay comes from the satisfaction that a piece is completed and appreciated, and that some memories of the journey are still with you, and not lost in any kinds of distractions. So, the short answer is yes.
 
Q: Did you always want to be an artist?
A: I never knew I was an artist until I began painting.
I don't believe that anyone consciously want to be an artist, even those who study the artform at school, colleges or other institutions. I think most artists become artists despite wanting to be or not. It is a calling that cannot be ignored.