Biography

I was born in USA, in Colorado, on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. I now live full time in the UK, on a farm in West Sussex with my daughter – The Amazing Jazzi-Bella. She is the reason I breathe and paint, and she has me completely wrapped around her finger.

I have been a professional artist for over 35 years – and I paint simply because I love to. In that time Ive had some great success and some monumental failures. Ive painted some masterpieces and some real losers. There is a constant sense of learning more about my art and art history in general. I feel it to be a great gift in my life to be a part of and to carry on in the craft and tradition of the artists who have inspired me and have come before.

The genesis of all my work is nature – nature with a deep respect for art history and a profound desire to create something new and original. With every painting I am standing on the shoulders of the artists before me, the artists Ive studied and admired. Artists from all genres – from Pre-Raphaelite, and Impressionism, to Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism, to Art Nouveau and Pop Art have all inspired me and informed my work.

I believe my work to be original and unique. The technique and style that Ive created I have never seen before. These paintings resonate with the beauty and history of Impressionism, yet they speak with a contemporary voice and structure of abstraction and even minimalism. I try to synthesise the many schools of painting that Ive grown to admire over the years. These paintings seek to find the balance between past and present – history and contemporary.

There is a ballet between light, water, colour and time that I try to capture in each new painting. Each painting has several thousand strokes and movements. Every painting is an attempt to see and feel that dance of colour, and light reflected in a flower, a tree, a hillside or the sea.

I am deeply in love with England. I am in love with this sea faring island nation. It is a lush garden fully surrounded by endless sea views, sunrises and sunsets. I try with my paintings to honour this place -this England where my young daughter is growing up. There is an endless supply of inspiration here – an unlimited palette and viewpoint. I am lucky to be here. For this reason I work as green and sustainable as possible. I use the highest quality water based paints available. The resin I use to create the liquid effect on my paintings is as non-toxic, and low carbon footprint as is possible at this time. The drips and spills of the paint falling off the sides of my artwork I even collect and save after theyve dried – using them in future, large scale paintings. Nothing is wasted.

As an artist I try to keep learning, challenging myself, reflecting on arts history and always looking forward. Seeking always to create something original and unique is one of the reasons I believe my work can be found in the collections of people as varied as HSH Prince Rainier of Monaco, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Downey Jr., Cindy Crawford, President Jimmy Carter, and the 75 year old widow on the farm next to mine, and many more. My work both small and very large scale can be found in corporate and private collections around the world.

Charity via my artwork is very dear to my heart – but I prefer to think of it as a working partnership rather than charity. Through my artwork I have had the great opportunity to contribute back to a life that has been so good to me – a world my daughter will inherit.

The sale of my artwork has contributed over 300,000 to various organizations and institutions including The Princess Grace Foundation, The Princes Trust, Teenage Cancer Trust, Nordoff Robbins, Aids Project Los Angeles, AMFAR, The Elton John Aids Foundation – to name a few. Something I am very proud of is the sale of 10 of my paintings at the Wallace Collection in London, from which all the proceeds were given toward the rebuilding of a school and dormitory in south western China after this region was devastated by an earthquake. This afforded me the opportunity to travel to one of the most remote regions of China and to meet some of the most wonderful and amazing people in the world – 62 children who now have a new and safe place to study and grow. I cannot be more grateful for this opportunity. I have many new projects on the horizon – not least of which is the working with the World Food Program, UNICEF and the United Nations.

Most recently, and a project of great excitement and joy for me was the working with Sir Paul Smith on developing a fabric from one of my paintings. My painting Classic With A Twist was used by Paul Smith as a principle print design for his 2011 Couture Womens Wear line. I was over the moon watching my artwork walk down the runway during London Fashion Week!

Basically my artwork is dedicated to my daughter, and to her generation and generations to come – and to the new paradigm of green and sustainable, to a healthy earth. It is dedicated to the beauty of England and the world as a whole. I dont need to say anything with my art – but hopefully my artwork will inspire anyone who sees it to look at the world as a beautiful and mysterious finite place. A place to be loved and protected.