History:
Born in London 1969
BA
(Hon's) Glasgow School of Art, and graduating in 1991
Post Graduate in animation at the University of Teesside 1992
Lecturing in colleges and universities in England and Scotland 1992-2005
Working full time as a painter, designer and illustrator from 2005 onwards.
A
little background to the work:
From my teenage years I have been obsessed with the era of the 1950s. I was
brought up on a healthy diet of rock'n'roll music and Marylin Monroe Movies
and was lucky to be a teenager in the 80s when there was the first 50s style
revival in fashion and cinema. The era of the 50s to me, typifies the prime
of the American dream, where everything was big, the dresses, the cars, the
hair and of course, the war was over so everything was looking peachy.
I
have a great love of travel and particularly seek out the faded romance
of route 66 and 1950s Americana, the deserts and crumbling towns of Argentina
and of course the shoppers and commuters in my home town of Glasgow. I
am a well known face on the burlesque circuit in Scotland, and recently
even visited New York to research the cabaret scene in the Big Apple.
New subjects that have attracted my artist's eye at home lurk behind closed
doors in antiquated venues of the city such as The Panopticon, Sloanes
bar and Dr Sketchy's Anti Art class at The Arches. Here can be found the
old world glamour of victorian musicals, burlesque performers, tango dancers
and cabaret acts. My most recent figurative work tries to capture the
vintage glamour these fabulous women (and men) and portrays both the humour
and sexiness in their acts. I have been lucky enough to meet and work
with the most flamboyant and talented performers through creating these
paintings. Long may it continue.