Hello everyone and welcome to my site. I will be keeping this updated with new works as they're completed, and will be updating this blog as often as I can. And hopefully from some interesting places.
So today was a big day. A meeting this morning marked the end of my association with the industry I have worked in for 15 years. The now badly neglected Offshore Oil Industry. I had been informed over a month ago, that I would likely be made redundant soon due to the current downturn and desperate measures taken by the various companies to survive.
This wasn't my first redundancy though, so my head didn't dip so low this time. Instead, I decided to do something that would revitalise me, and give me the sense of worth that I had once felt should have come from my career. I picked up my paintbrushes and paints, and took to the canvas with an energy I haven't experienced since my teens.
Since my Grandmother gave me my first lessons in drawing and painting aged 8, I have loved to draw and paint, and by High School, it had cemented itself as a part of my identity. I created one off hand painted designs on T Shirts for schoolmates, and inspired by a huge book on Salvador Dali in the school library, I ventured into paintings that had a purpose other than to render subjects accurately. I used symbolism and metaphor to convey feelings and longings that otherwise couldn't have found a voice. As I gained confidence, I was able to plan my future around this love for painting.
I lost a lot of confidence and cohesion when my family returned us to Scotland, and I saw my plans dissolve and wash away.
However, as I settled into my new home, I again picked up the brush as a way to mark myself out as an individual. Over the years, that has found me completing works on a variety of topics and genres. Moving from T-shirts to leather jackets and motorcycles through to carrying out commissions for a Dance Music record shop, sign work for a large restaurant chain, and even the cover art for a local bands single.
Now I find myself living in a peaceful village on the North East of Scotland, and lucky enough to be able to have such beautiful landscapes around me, and taking photographs just isn't enough any more.
These are the events that have led me to this point, and I want to capture the moments that take my breath away, the moments that you can only find in this part of the world, in Scotland. I will capture them for you too, and I look forward to sharing my journey as I fill my canvasses.