I've been painting for way too long to quantify. I initially studied graphic design when I was younger but my enthusiasm for painting soon superseded anything truly academic.

When asked to explain my work: "What type of artist are you?" I find the easiest way to describe myself is "a painter." Hopper's 'Nighthawks' sparked my early interest in painting. Vettriano's 'Mad dogs' persuaded me to try using a paintbrush. Durer, Vermeer and contemporary painters such as Clive Head, David Hockney and Richard Estes all played their part in educating me.

The narrative behind my artwork is in part owed to the stories and tales that people so kindly choose to share with me. Second to this, but perhaps more obviously, is my fascination with the imperfect beauty of overlooked places and objects that seem fixed in time.

Individual paintings can take from a week to a month depending mainly on the complexity and in part, the scale.