When asked where they got their ideas from, all artists would undoubtedly reply, ‘My Art is a part of myself’

At school I longed to study art where it was recommended that I study Fine Art by my tutors, an opportunity which never presented itself. My passion for drawing was historic battle scenes, sea warfare and drawing all types of sea vessels.

In 1971 I joined the Army and served with the Corps of Royal Engineers as an Armoured Engineer, also attending the Royal School of Military Survey where I trained as a cartographic draughtsman working on maps and charts. This type of work demanded a strong observation to develop a high degree of accuracy for drawing to scale. I bring this strong observation for detail and draughtsmanship skills to my artwork.

Detail: is it important? Yes, like leaves to a tree, detail within your art adds life and depth to your subject. It is the vital element that transforms your sketch, illustration or painting from just colour and lines into something real.

I am an avid admirer of the acclaimed artist Boris Vallejo whose mastery of oil painting is immediately and abundantly clear to anyone who looks at his work. His classic sense is as much a homage to the old masters as it is to anyone contemporaneously working in the Fantasy genre.

I paint in a traditional realistic manner using tonal precision with strong depiction of light and shade applied to every element of my work. My preferred medium is oils, undertaking work either by commission, selecting a project or from a specially created collage.

I recently exhibited ‘Lights Out In Europe’ at the ‘Going To War’ Exhibition at Westminster Abbey as part of the commemorations of the Start of World War One, which was both a privilege and a valued experience.