The epitaph for the artist Cedric Morris carries two simple words ‘Artist:Gardener’ and that has always appealed to me. For my own work, the inspiration is from the wilder countryside with its shifting light and challenging weather, occasionally venturing out of the Cotswolds further afield. I studied classical drawing and portraiture in Florence with Signorina Simi and her method of teaching gave me the confidence to set up an independent art group in 1992 and it has been going twice a week ever since.

After many years painting portraits (always every dog in the house before the children!) I now take commissions for house portraits and their surroundings. I have also chronicled some of my travels to the more remote landscapes of Myanmar, Transylvania and Georgia for Leisure Painter Magazine.