Background
I was born in Worcester, UK, during the 1960’s and took to drawing almost as soon as I could hold a pencil. As a child I was rarely without a sketchbook, utterly absorbed in drawing, painting and making things. That compulsion to create has never stopped.
At eighteen I moved to London to study art and design, and it was there that I fell in love with photography. The darkroom felt like a magical place to me; I never tired of watching an image slowly reveal itself in the developing tray. That sense of wonder led naturally to a career as a freelance photographer.
Then, in my early thirties, I woke up one morning and decided I wanted to go kayaking. That same evening I was out on the River Thames, near Westminster, having my first lesson in the heart of central London, and I was immediately hooked. Within a few years I was teaching kayaking and competing in kayak slalom, reaching Division One before turning those skills towards exploring watery places. I paddled sea kayaks along coastlines, ran whitewater rivers in the UK and France, surfed waves in a kayak, and pottered along quiet backwaters and canals. That intimate relationship with water transformed my photography, drawing it firmly towards aquatic environments, wild places and adventure water sports.
In 2004 I qualified as a diver, and my cameras began going underwater, opening up an entirely new perspective on the element I was already obsessed with. Around the same time I discovered caving and also began exploring disused mines.
All of that lived experience, years spent in, on and under water, now runs through everything I paint.
Recent Exhibitions
- Elemental, The Chelsea Gallery, King's Road, London (5-17 March 2024). Group exhibition featuring four artists exploring connections to nature. I served as organiser and exhibiting artist.
- The River Within, Riverside Gallery, Richmond-upon-Thames (2 September - 16 November 2019). Solo photography exhibition presenting London from the perspective of a kayak.
Education and Awards
- BA (Hons) Illustration and Graphic Design, Kingston University
- Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) award, 2005 (underwater photography development)
Professional Memberships
Additional Exhibition Activity
- Parallax Art Fair, London
- Spitalfields Arts Market, London