ABOUT
It’s hard to believe we’re already in September. The year began with a very special exhibition at the Romanian Cultural Institute, where I showed a series of landscapes completed last summer.
I later returned to the Hebrides, where I completed a series of landscapes and portraits for a private collection, an opportunity that combined my love of portraiture with the wild beauty of the Scottish islands.
One particularly proud moment was presenting my painting of The Changing of the Colours by HM King Charles III, commissioned by the Royal Navy Trophy Centre. It was an extraordinary honour to have the painting unveiled on the bridge of the aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth II.
As autumn begins, my focus has shifted towards a number of private portrait commissions, as well as preparing for further travels and future projects that I look forward to sharing in due course.
CAREER BACKGROUND
2023-2024 marked a very special time in my career. I was commissioned by HM the King to produce a series of paintings of the Procession on the day of the Coronation, on May 6th 2023. These paintings have now become part of The Royal Collection and were viewed by HM the King, in September 2024.
I was also re-commissioned for by Hauser & Wirth gallery, to produce another series of portraits of locals living in Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. In addition the gallery commissioned me to paint the portraits of local Scottish fisherman for their ‘Fish Shop’ restaurant.
2020-22 was a busy period inspite of the global pandemic. I continued to paint and draw, both in the UK and overseas, including a special time in Norway. I also discovered I had an interest in garden design and am inspired by the amazing Dutch designer, Piet Oudolf.
In 2019 I embarked on a project to draw D-Day veterans to coincide with the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. In June I visited Normandy to meet veterans from many countries including the UK, America and Canada. The Royal British Legion kindly hosted an exhibition of my portraits and I was thrilled these were viewed by HRH the Prince of Wales and HRH the Duchess of Cornwall.
In 2018 I was fortunate to be commissioned by Hauser & Wirth to create a series of portraits of local people living in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. These portraits can been seen under the tab Characters of Braemar and are on display at the Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar.
-
In 2017, I completed a challenging postgraduate 'Drawing Year' in London, based at The Royal Drawing School. I feel very honoured to have attended such a prestigious school and remain in contact with a number of peers and also the talented and very experienced staff.
Prior to this I enjoyed a 3 year degree in Illustration at Cardiff School of Art and Design. I was thrilled to be awarded a 1st and am indebted to the teaching staff.
During my time in Cardiff, I progressed a number of personal projects. In 2016 I focussed on the experiences of refugees and created a project called 'Love the Stranger as Yourself.'
In 2015 I completed 'Sketch A Day Africa' – which involved drawing 365 African newsmakers from January 1st to December 31st 2015. This was incredibly challenging and also a wonderful way to learn more about Africa and to feature some extraordinary people. Previously, Africa was barely on my radar and in November 2015 I had a memorable experience visiting Senegal and Gambia.