I promise to keep this brief: I'm married with three children and two grandchildren.
After a career in engineering, Mr Heseltine kindly closed my industry to allow me more time to pursue other interests. These included writing (I've even had a short story on Radio 4) and painting. I came to watercolour painting by chance; doing the ironing, the tv was on and Ashley Jackson was demonstrating. My wife provided the requested paints and such and I was away.
A helpline for Channel 4's Watercolour Challenge led to an adult education centre in Newcastle upon Tyne and I studied for three years with Ben Haslam.
By the time I got to three years the centre manager had suggested that I take a teaching qualification and I went on to teach creative writing to a group of students who were registered as blind. At the same time I was teaching watercolour to a small class at the centre and one of the blind students expressed an interest when she heard of this. The centre backed up the suggestion and I was fortunate to work with some very brave and accomplished artists who had to overcome serious difficulties. The group exhibited at The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle (a very prestigious venue).
I have now retired from demonstrating.
My work has been exhibited at a variety of venues in the north east including the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne and the Showcase Gallery in Richmond, North Yorkshire. Joint exhibitions with Alan Wakefield, open entry exhibitions, art society and solo exhibitions have also provided platforms for showing my work. My articles have been published in Leisure Painter magazine, the demonstration for St Michaels Mount (See Gallery Five) featured the making of pens from bamboo and their use.
A number of artists influence my work, the major influences (and those I most admire) are
Ashley Jackson; Ben Haslam; JMW Turner (inevitably): Albrecht Durer; Alex Powers; David Curtis; Karlyn Holman; Jan Kunz; there are many more including many artists that I work with in workshops or at demonstrations (the names may not mean much to you but Alan Wakefield, Ian Gow, Margaret Godfrey, Olive Norwood, Olive Simpkins, David Vasey, Eileen Donnelly figure prominently) I am grateful to each and every one of them. The list has to stop somewhere, so it stops here. I honestly believe that I have learned from every painting experience be it attending a demonstration by another artist or leading a workshop myself.
The thing about art is that the learning never stops and it's always exciting, not always successful but always exciting.
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After a career in engineering, Mr Heseltine kindly closed my industry to allow me more time to pursue other interests. These included writing (I've even had a short story on Radio 4) and painting. I came to watercolour painting by chance; doing the ironing, the tv was on and Ashley Jackson was demonstrating. My wife provided the requested paints and such and I was away.
A helpline for Channel 4's Watercolour Challenge led to an adult education centre in Newcastle upon Tyne and I studied for three years with Ben Haslam.
By the time I got to three years the centre manager had suggested that I take a teaching qualification and I went on to teach creative writing to a group of students who were registered as blind. At the same time I was teaching watercolour to a small class at the centre and one of the blind students expressed an interest when she heard of this. The centre backed up the suggestion and I was fortunate to work with some very brave and accomplished artists who had to overcome serious difficulties. The group exhibited at The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle (a very prestigious venue).
I have now retired from demonstrating.
My work has been exhibited at a variety of venues in the north east including the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne and the Showcase Gallery in Richmond, North Yorkshire. Joint exhibitions with Alan Wakefield, open entry exhibitions, art society and solo exhibitions have also provided platforms for showing my work. My articles have been published in Leisure Painter magazine, the demonstration for St Michaels Mount (See Gallery Five) featured the making of pens from bamboo and their use.
A number of artists influence my work, the major influences (and those I most admire) are
Ashley Jackson; Ben Haslam; JMW Turner (inevitably): Albrecht Durer; Alex Powers; David Curtis; Karlyn Holman; Jan Kunz; there are many more including many artists that I work with in workshops or at demonstrations (the names may not mean much to you but Alan Wakefield, Ian Gow, Margaret Godfrey, Olive Norwood, Olive Simpkins, David Vasey, Eileen Donnelly figure prominently) I am grateful to each and every one of them. The list has to stop somewhere, so it stops here. I honestly believe that I have learned from every painting experience be it attending a demonstration by another artist or leading a workshop myself.
The thing about art is that the learning never stops and it's always exciting, not always successful but always exciting.
Back to Home Page