Gallery

Having black coffee and macarons while sketching at Fitzbillies is how this exhibition was born. Wondering about the people at other tables, their laughter, coy glances, ice-tea with two straws. Fitzbillies is quintessentially Cambridge and everyone you meet will have their own story.

The Fitzwilliam feel like home. Like silent movies the Fitzwilliam is a place where visitor’s personalities shine. 

This series explores the nature of seeing the world unnoticed, watching those who are watching. It celebrates the experience of a gallery goer while also allowing us the luxury of their imagined stories.

When the sun shines in Cambridge, the rivers swell with burnt shoulders and squawking punters.

Ladies in wide-brimmed hats, graduations, hen parties and the occasional slow, and very wet slide into the Cam as green punters hold tight to the pole and leave the deck of the punt. Separated by the width of a quant pole, each punt becomes a private and delicious play in one act to be watched from above.

The oasis of a food truck is a sheer visual delight. Technically, the challenge of these paintings is significant, and all the more delicious for it. I try to capture light and the nostalgia of the last falafel or Caribbean dumpling gobbled up on a cold dark night. Depicting impromptu chats while queueing, this series is about strangers making momentary connections through light, colour and most importantly food.

A collection of portraits new and old. Mostly friends and family with a few models thrown in for good measure.

A group of figurative paintings of family, friends and domestic life. The title piece was a co-creation with Naomi’s son, Max (then aged 1).

Another favourite piece, ‘Party time’, has the table laid with nostalgic children’s party food inspired by the artist's grandmother’s bold and often challenging edible creations.

This selection of figurative paintings are made up of a few collections. The first are paintings based in is East End of London including some of Brick Lane in the rain. Another group of work is from a series I did called ‘Cool Britannia’. These are a series of paintings done based on members only clubs in town including the shockingly cool Momo and Atlantic bars.

This was a series of work based on the ‘Big Ballet’. This plus sized troop of dancers were put together by former Royal Ballet principal Wayne Sleep and dancer turned artistic director Monica Loughman.

I’ve never been sure where this extraordinary tribe go when festival season ends, perhaps they migrate with the swifts but I’ve always had an itch to paint then. This series of paintings are a love story to the people that would still go shopping in a princess dress long after their eighth birthdays. 

Here are a range of some of my sketchbook work. This one, I did while in Devon on a rainy day. Lots of dead flies on window sills proved rather good life models.

A selection of life drawings from 2019 onwards.

A watercolour artist diary of an artist, a bit personal