I was born in Birmingham, in the industrial heartland of England in the early sixties and attended school there. At seventeen, after a period of travel, I moved to London where I commenced a dissolute lifestyle, living in large communal squats with a revolving cast of fringe dwellers, drug dealers, drunks and dole claiming visionaries, some of whom I captured in portraits.

For income I painted hanging pub signs,  and commercial murals and ended up working with a high end decorative arts company applying gold leaf, doing faux finishes, and executing murals and tromp l’oiel painting. Whilst living in absolute squalor with the outcasts of society I worked on the homes of the most powerful and wealthiest in London. 

In the mid eighties I applied for and gained a place at Central / St, Martins School of Art. However, at that time the painting department was run by a cadre of abstract expressionists who had no time for figurative painting, and I basically entered a three year running battle during. My only real ally was my tutor and mentor John Stezaker who influenced my outlook on the conceptual aspect of image making, and through whom I met several of the influential artists working in London at that time.

In the mid nineties I finally got to travel to New Zealand to see an old friend. I eventually made the decision to stay here. In time I got married and started a family. It was here that someone suggested trying the film industry, and that became the main source of my income. I spent the better part of 20 years working as a scenic artist and eventually lead scenic on large blockbuster productions both here and overseas.

With my daughters now fledged I am concentrating on my easel painting. Finding my artists voice once again.