My urge to draw began in my childhood and continued throughout my school years. I then completed a year of study at an art school in Wellington, New Zealand, before starting work in the commercial art field. However, I soon discovered it was not the type of art I wanted to do as a career and so I went to training college to become a teacher.
After six years of teaching, I realised that my part-time painting had become my first love, so with my wife’s encouragement, I went full-time. That was way back in 1972. Since then, I've concentrated on improving my work with day to day sales, along with one-man and group exhibitions and teaching assignments with art groups in New Zealand, Australia, and the USA.
After trying watercolours, acrylics, and oils, I decided that oils are the best choice for me. I love the creamy texture and the flow of the brushes on the stretched canvas surface, the range of beautiful colours, and the fact that I can control their drying time – from an hour or two, to several days – whatever I prefer. Also, unlike other mediums, extremes of hot and cold don't make too much difference to the working qualities of oils. See the results of my efforts on the gallery and archive pages.
In 2007, my wife and I shifted to Glenorchy where I enjoyed painting and teaching in the stunning mountains and valleys in the area. I enjoyed taking groups of people out to my favourite spots where I could teach them how to paint ‘plein air,’ (in the great outdoors), a different experience for those who had been studio – only painters in the past.
However, in the last two or three years, we have begun to realise that, as a friend quipped, "getting old ain't for sissies". Kay's health particularly, began to head downhill and we were told that a warmer climate would be better for us and so we decided to move to the far north – a small coastal village called Mangonui, where we are now in the process of settling in. It is a lovely spot – no mountains but a beautiful coastline that will bring many inspiring painting and teaching opportunities. If you might be interested, you can check out my approach on the painting classes page.
They tell us that learning new things helps our brains to avoid Alzheimer's. It sounds as if painting might be the perfect foil for age related diseases. Every colour we mix, every brushstroke we apply, calls for dozens of decisions. To add to those difficulties, my very helpful (patient) friend Richard Robinson introduced me to the idea of creating teaching DVD's - filming myself as I paint and talk about what I'm doing on the canvas and the reasons why. VERY challenging I’ve discovered! Editing the information from three cameras is not easy but I hope my efforts are improving and that if you download or buy my discs through this website ( details on the DVD's page ), you will enjoy and learn from them.
My urge to draw began in my childhood and continued throughout my school years. I then completed a year of study at an art school in Wellington, New Zealand, before starting work in the commercial art field. However, I soon discovered it was not the type of art I wanted to do as a career and so I went to training college to become a teacher.
After six years of teaching, I realised that my part-time painting had become my first love, so with my wife’s encouragement, I went full-time. That was way back in 1972. Since then, I've concentrated on improving my work with day to day sales, along with one-man and group exhibitions and teaching assignments with art groups in New Zealand, Australia, and the USA.
After trying watercolours, acrylics, and oils, I decided that oils are the best choice for me. I love the creamy texture and the flow of the brushes on the stretched canvas surface, the range of beautiful colours, and the fact that I can control their drying time – from an hour or two, to several days – whatever I prefer. Also, unlike other mediums, extremes of hot and cold don't make too much difference to the working qualities of oils. See the results of my efforts on the gallery and archive pages.
In 2007, my wife and I shifted to Glenorchy where I enjoyed painting and teaching in the stunning mountains and valleys in the area. I enjoyed taking groups of people out to my favourite spots where I could teach them how to paint ‘plein air,’ (in the great outdoors), a different experience for those who had been studio – only painters in the past.
However, in the last two or three years, we have begun to realise that, as a friend quipped, "getting old ain't for sissies". Kay's health particularly, began to head downhill and we were told that a warmer climate would be better for us and so we decided to move to the far north – a small coastal village called Mangonui, where we are now in the process of settling in. It is a lovely spot – no mountains but a beautiful coastline that will bring many inspiring painting and teaching opportunities. If you might be interested, you can check out my approach on the painting classes page.
They tell us that learning new things helps our brains to avoid Alzheimer's. It sounds as if painting might be the perfect foil for age related diseases. Every colour we mix, every brushstroke we apply, calls for dozens of decisions. To add to those difficulties, my very helpful (patient) friend Richard Robinson introduced me to the idea of creating teaching DVD's - filming myself as I paint and talk about what I'm doing on the canvas and the reasons why. VERY challenging I’ve discovered! Editing the information from three cameras is not easy but I hope my efforts are improving and that if you download or buy my discs through this website ( details on the DVD's page ), you will enjoy and learn from them.