About me…

[If you don’t want to bother reading any of the below, just click here for everything you need to know about me – in under 2 minutes]

At 7 years of age I decided that when I grew up I wanted to be either (a) a magician or (b) a dustbin man. In the intervening years, somewhere in the middle ground between magic and rubbish, I’ve reached a compromise and chosen to become an artist.

In reality it was more a calling than a choice. Soon after I was born I adopted a bunch of healthily irrational neuroses, and began scribbling and painting – making pictures of spaceships and dinosaurs. Almost 5 decades later I’m still scribbling and painting. And writing. And making models. And videos. Basically expressing myself in any way possible in order to let the colours, ideas and emotions in my head/heart out into the world.

It really is the only way to get the inner voices to be quiet and stop saying things like ‘What the hell is wrong with people?’, ‘What would that look like if it was upside down with a clown sitting on it?’ or ‘What colour is God?’

If, on any given day, you took a slice out of my mind you would find the inscrutable coldness of Peter Greenaway’s films, the warmth and joy of the Kneehigh Theatre Company, the flamboyance of Rufus Wainwright’s songs, the sweeping majesty of the Malvern Hills, the furious rants of Doug Stanhope, the dark words of Samuel Beckett, and the sheer, childlike wonder of the giant puppets of Royal De Luxe. On another day you may just find a doughnut and a pocket watch.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ME:

(1) Born in Malvern, Worcestershire, UK in 1970 (before email, emojis and the euro).

(2) Gained a degree in illustration from Leicester Polytechnic (now DeMontfort Uni) in 1992.

(3) Worked for a clothing/kitchenware/tea towel design company for 5 years, where I learned the art of creating loveliness in the face of the most bland adversity. (e.g.: ‘You want a tea towel for Frinton-on-Sea using one crappy seaside postcard from 1973? No problem!’)

(4) Moved from Malvern to Leicester to Bristol to a tiny hamlet in Somerset.

(5) Became a vegan activist in 2005 and an animal rights artist in 2014. The former was the best decision I’ve ever made, and the latter fulfilled the promise I’d made to myself somewhere between (1) and (5), which was to combine the ethical, spiritual and vegan themes that had repeatedly surfaced in my work and to do something USEFUL in this ridiculous world.

So – this website is a comprehensive library of all the paintings, poetry, novels and videos I’ve created. Everything that I created on my journey from art college to activism. It’s a visual diary of my life and experiences. I hope you find it more magical than rubbish – or I really should’ve chosen another career.

Please browse the galleries, the shop and the links to my books and videos. And please do contact me if you’re interested in a commission or in a particular piece of art, or maybe just want to say hello.

NB: All paintings are acrylic on either canvas board, stretched canvas or paper. Actually, there’s ONE single piece done in oils. A prize if you can spot which one.

SHOWING OFF: A LIST OF EXHIBITIONS

Leicester (Art Gallery, Ark Bar, DeMontfort Hall, New Walk Museum)

Bristol (Old Vic Theatre Bar, St.Stephen’s Church)

Malvern (Winter Gardens)

Bath (Restaurant Gallery)

With the Association of Illustrators at The Mall Gallery, Central London

‘Animus’ 2016 – Karamel Restaurant, Wood Green, North London

Cardiff Viva! Vegan Festival 2017

‘Behind Closed Doors’ 2017 – The Strand Gallery, Central London

‘Same Soul, Different Body’ Bristol City Centre 2017

‘Through Compassionate Eyes: An Artists Call For Animal Rights’ (The Jewish Art Salon, Connecticut) 2018

The LiberationArts Festival, Bristol 2019

FUZE 2019: EDEN (Bristol)

With the ‘Art of Compassion’ Collective:

‘ChinaFit’ (Beijing) 2017
London Vegfest 2017
Utrecht Vegfest (Netherlands) 2017
Brighton Vegfest 2018
Bristol Vegfest 2018
Lancaster Vegfest (USA) 2018
Asheville Vegfest (USA) 2018
Parma Etica (Italy) 2018
Sagra del Seitan Vegan Festival (Italy) 2018
POP plant-based festival (Beijing) 2018

The International Animal Rights Conference (Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg) 2018

Brighton Vegfest 2019

Dublin Vegfest 2019

London Vegfest 2019

The International Animal Rights Conference (Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg) 2019