B!ogr@phy
Being born and raised in a small mining village in the north of England, one simply does not take up oil portrait painting as a career choice....but then again.
With no formal training in using oils, everything I've learned has been sourced from books, videos, tutorials, and backs of cereal packets, with influences coming from old masters, as well as modern day contemporary painters.
This mix of classic oil painting techniques with more modern abstract methods, create a style without the limitations of what is traditionally right or wrong.​
​In 2018, I entered my first major competition, the annual Artist & Leisure Painter Magazine Open, with my painting, "What's around the corner". This came first place, leading to the Leisure Painter running a 3 page article on me and my work in the February 2019 edition of the magazine.
In 2019 I finished my first painting series "After Dark", this led to the decision to go full time with my painting, and in the summer of 2019, I bought a high street property in my home town of South Elmsall, UK and renovated it into a studio/gallery.
During 2019/2020, I found myself working closely with local galleries, as well as having several of my paintings being selected for major UK competitions, one being my painting "Hot Chocolate", which was shortlisted for both the Artist Magazine annual competition, and The Jacksons Painting Prize Longlist.
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After finishing my second painting collection "Escape" in late 2020, I decided to take a different approach to my portraits, combining the traditional methods of oil painting, with more contemporary ideas, and experimenting with different media, creating a unique style of portraiture, which led to my third series, "Inverted Reality"
In early 2021, I was one of the 72 artists selected out of 1000's of entries, to appear on the "Sky Portrait Artist of the Year 2021" TV programme.
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The filming of this took place in April of 2021 at the Battersea Arts Centre, London, where I was given 4 hours to paint choreographer & television presenter Arlene Phillips.
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This was aired on Sky Tv, Freeview on the 24th November 2021.