My working life -

As a child I always loved to draw and paint, but my education and employment in a totally unrelated field resulted in me giving-up any form of artwork for almost 20 years. Thanks to enormous support from my wife, I eventually quit a safe and well paid office job for a more week-to-week career as a professional artist (established April 2004).

I have no formal training, but hopefully my work speaks for itself? I like to draw and paint simply because the end result makes other people happy (see the Customer Comments), and makes me feel like I have done something worthwhile. By contrast, I can't claim that I ever managed to write a Business Case, or draft a Project Plan that made the recipient 'happy'.

My "studio" is on the attic floor of my home. It can get extremely hot in the summer, and is bitterly cold in the winter. However, the light is very good, and I have plenty of space.

Max And Willow

I spend much of my time in the company of "Max", my 3 year old Hovawart . For the first year of his life he was the puppy from hell - hyperactive and a compulsive biter (of me and my wife mainly!), but he's growing-up to be a lovely boy. Max's favourite hobbies are, eating/chewing, running with his mates, guarding our home and barking at passers-by. Last year, Max got a new playmate - "Willow" (also a Hovawart) , who is proving to be a very sweet natured, happy and affectionate pup. Willow adores Max.

Practical skills -

I love/hate DIY, and have been working on the restoration of our home for the past 5 years. I love the starting and finishing of jobs, but it's the long period in between that I hate. My brother-in-law is an accomplished joiner, so I always have to approach my woodwork in the knowledge that it will be assessed and given marks out of 10!

Music -

During my late teens, I briefly worked as a professional musician. I'm now way beyond treating my music as anything more than a hobby, but I enjoy teaching guitar, and currently have a few students. Here's the opening bars of "Under the Bridge" by the fantastic Chili Peppers, and played by me (badly) on a Fender electro/acoustic.

Tai Chi -

I started to learn tai chi about 4 years ago. Progress has been very slow, but I have found the venture to be extremely enjoyable and beneficial. I rarely get adequate time to practice, and struggle with "snake creeps down" .

©2008 A&B Artwork