About

I am a wildlife artist and naturalist based in Cornwall, UK. Everything I do starts from field sketches, done from life, most often using graphite, charcoal or pastel and watercolour. Pictures may be finished in the field if I have time and the mood is right. Sometimes the sketches and ideas may be developed later, back in the studio, and perhaps in some other medium. Here I may dabble in oils, acrylic, collage or printmaking: whatever suits the subject or my interest at that moment.

Working directly from life is essential for me. I find the practice of drawing and painting outdoors a very powerful way of connecting with nature and landscape. It is probably the most enjoyable and rewarding part of the art-making process and most often the field sketches are simply an end in themselves.

In other peoples' work I'm drawn to images that convey energy and movement; that really capture the life of the subject. I'm a great fan of drawings and sketches: they often hold more truth than polished finished works. I often prefer images that are impressionistic or lean towards the abstract. In fact, I rather aspire to this approach in my own work, although you might not realise it from looking at my pictures. (It’s something I’m working on!) But you will not find detail and feather perfection in my work — I have neither the interest nor the patience for that sort of thing.

There is more about my fieldwork in the Sketchbook section.

And if you would like to read a little about how I got started with wildlife art, follow this link:   Where I Started

I love wilderness and I love islands. So much better if the wilderness has an abundance of wildlife. Such places inspire me and stir my heart like no others.

While I've been fortunate enough to visit some truly remote and wild places, such opportunities are all too rare and the visits all too brief. Most of my work is done around the UK or closer to home in Cornwall.

Cornwall is a lovely and varied county. There's certainly no wilderness, but it does have some great wildlife, and some beautiful and relatively quiet corners. These are the places I often seek out in search of inspiration. It is not always necessary to travel far — even the garden offers a wealth of opportunity!