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I will always feel that it is such a privilege to have a career that reaps such huge rewards. When a commission is successful there never fails to be a level of satisfaction that comes as a result of the receiver having shown confidence and judgement in your work. I create because I love to create. I create because I love experimenting, the excitement of starting a new piece, wondering how it will turn out and how it brings on a life of its own. It can be a calming experience, yet sometimes intense, and more than anything I enjoy 'losing myself' in my work, oblivious to the world around me. Therefore my work ethics are a little unconventional!
I will occasionally be busy all day out of the studio doing research and then start work as late as 10.30 at night and work into the early hours. But that time is quiet, uninterrupted and most certainly and necessarily focussed. It is very important. I thrive on my own company but always in the knowledge that with the portfolio I have, there will be times, especially working with the military or on wildlife tours, when I do work as part of a team and as a result I get fired up with ideas and inspiration simply itching to return to the studio.
My work and life is one of contrasts and that is the key for me. Travelling as much as I do makes the quiet time in my studio so important and I always make sure that I paint or draw something I love. With each and every painting or drawing I attempt to improve on the last, constantly addressing technique and skills. Being able to put a visual perspective on an idea or subject, taking it from imagination to realisation and through fine-tuning and effort is never less than a huge challenge and is not always straightforward. My clear objective is to always check and double check my judgement call and I can honestly say that in every fifty or so paintings that I do, maybe one will say everything that I wanted it to say. I was taught from the very beginning that if a picture isn’t good enough to leave the studio it should be torn up and destroyed without hesitation. With that many days and that many hours struggling to get a painting right it is not an easy decision but in nearly all cases it is the right one. It is a very dangerous place to be when one gets precious about ones work.
I feel extremely lucky to exercise such freedom in my work. Most of all for me creativity is an emotional release. I am passionate about the things that I do especially wildlife and conservation and if I am not listening to R4, Genesis or Verdis Requiem at full volume I will be in complete silence thinking ideas, making the brain work and pushing the boundaries of my ability.
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