I am an artist

It has taken me a while to reconcile myself to this.

I was brought up in an environment that did not believe art was a way to make a living. Although I had always compulsively drawn and painted I went straight from school to Newcastle University to study mechanical engineering. I had hoped to go into industrial design but found that there was no scope for it. I could not survive without a creative outlet, so I left to go to Art College after the first year.

In 1997, still trying to find a way to apply my creative skills, I began to design costumes for Questor's Amateur Theatre. In 1998, I went to London College of Fashion to study costume. I left after a year, as the course had no design element. I continued designing costumes for fringe theatre and later for low-budget films, gravitating towards the more bizarre productions.

In the mean time I some how fell into working on an IT Helpdesk for the local council to pay the bills, In October 2003, I gave up full-time work, opting to work part-time for the Council. I initially did this to concentrate on costume design. I had difficulty finding work, so I decided to use my time constructively by painting. I exhibited my work for the first time that Christmas. The positive feedback I got, combined with the personal fulfilment I felt from painting made me decide to focus entirely on it.