He studied at Central St Martin’s from 1968-1971, was awarded the Sir James Knott travelling scholarship (Italy) in 1971 and completed his education with an MA in Painting at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
His works display a strong connection between painting and sculpture, often depicting ambiguous, skeletal constructs, realised as stencils and large scale 3D forms. He describes his works as 'exploring the relationships between the palpable nature of an object and its constructed identity on a surface. It derives from processes intrinsic to drawing and painting, where elements of the real world are translated two dimensionally.'
Notable solo exhibitions include Sunderland Arts Centre (1975), Waterloo Gallery, London (1979), Hatton Gallery, Newcastle (1981) and Atlantis Gallery, London (1983). Group exhibitions include Young Contemporaries, RA, London (1970), Functional Drawings, Northern Arts Gallery, Newcastle (1977), XI Paris Biennale, MOMA and Pompidou Centre (1980) and Drawing Activity, Gallery Rysunku, Poland (1981).
In 1978 his illustrations accompanied a book of poems by John Silkin (Ceolfrith Press) and in 1979 he received an Arts Council purchase award.
During his career he has held teaching posts at Newcastle and Sunderland Polytechnics and the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.
He lives and works in Whitley Bay.

Glossary

  • Drawing

    The depiction of shapes and forms on a flat surface chiefly by means of lines although colour and shading may also be included. Materials most commonly used are pencil, ink, crayon, charcoal, chalk and pastel, although other materials, including paint, can be used in combination.

  • Painting

    Work of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is a tightly stretched piece of canvas, paper or a wooden panel. Painting involves a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's intellectual concerns effecting the content of a work.

  • Sculpture

    A three-dimensional work of art. Such works may be carved, modelled, constructed, or cast. Sculptures can also be described as assemblage, in the round, relief, and made in a huge variety of media. Contemporary practice also includes live elements, as in Gilbert & George 'Living Sculpture' as well as broadcast work, radio or sound sculpture.