I was encouraged to start drawing and painting from an early age by my art teacher. At school I adopted a large part of the art room, gaining 100% at GCSE and an A with distinction at A Level, even though I failed two other subjects in the process, due to my commitment to art. After leaving school I studied for a BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design at Bournville Art College, Birmingham. On successful completion of this course in 1995, I enrolled at The University of Wolverhampton for three years, where I gained a BA Honours in 'Fine Art' specializing in painting. It was in Wolverhampton that I learned the practice of going into the studio every day to paint, living and working as an artist.

After graduating I organized a few small shows in bars and clubs around Birmingham and Manchester. Although they all sold out, I still found I needed a regular income to support my painting and myself. This is when I joined the Halcyon Gallery, as a framer in their warehouse.

Seeing all the art passing through my hands as a framer I became re-invigorated and encouraged to start painting a wider variety of subjects again. I had purposely left a few of my paintings around the workshop and eventually, as I had hoped, one of my colleagues showed them to Glyn Washington who promptly arranged a viewing with me.

The response that I received from him was so positive, exceeding all my expectations. It was this response that inspired me to continue painting and provided me with new wealth of confidence.

In the two years since joining Washington Green I have developed more as an artist than ever before.

During my degree at Wolverhampton, a lot more emphasis was placed upon theory and ideas, rather than the actual practice of painting. Being quite a practical person I was able to discover and teach myself the physical qualities of paint, which interested me more than becoming tied down with deep theories behind my works.

I was almost forced into thinking about why and what I painted, and when I did my final year thesis I came to realize that I had chosen art for the simple reason that I got pleasure from it. From then on I painted what I enjoyed doing and enjoyed looking at. I painted pictures that brought me, and hopefully others, pleasure. This is still the main reason behind what I choose to paint. I don't paint a particular subject; I try to depict an atmosphere, which can be anything from relaxation, solitude, comfort or something that makes me feel at ease when I look at it. A still picture gives me something that I do not get from a photograph.