Wollaton Hall Lake.  30"X 20",  Oil on Canvas, Painted 1990.

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Walking around Wollaton Hall lake, a place I would go regularly with my wife, I noticed this scene which impressed me greatly. I painted it in 1990 whilst living at 37 Merchant Street, Bulwell, Nottingham.   At the time, I had recently qualified as a psychiatric nurse and we were poor, Coralie having given birth to our twin girls 3 years earlier. The twins were in need of new beds having outgrown their cots.  We could not afford these, however a friend Margaret Hayes saw the painting, liked it and wanted it for her home.  Although slightly reluctant, I agreed to sell for a pair of beds and an amount of money. The painting therefore moved to live with her.  Tragically, a number of years later Margaret contracted cancer and sadly died.  The painting remained with her husband Brian.  In 2006, I became the Bishop of my church. Brian who had been a previous Bishop and with whom I served  turned up one day at my home with the painting stating that he felt that Margaret would have wanted me to have the painting.  The painting now is hung in my livng room and I hold it as a treasure and in memorial to Margaret.  This painting will never go on sale during my lifetime.

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Chambery, France.  Pastel on Paper 1998

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In 1998, shortly after the death of my father, we, as a family journeyed to the cote d'azur on holiday.  We drove there, taking 3 days each way due to the age of our children.  On the second night, we stayed in a tent at Chambery.  From the site, we could see a horse in the next field with the Alps in the background. The clouds were hitting the mountains releasing their water, lifting, and dissipating. I just had to record this scene.

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Cromford Canal End  30"X 20"  Oil on Canvas Painted 1990 (accidentally destroyed)

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I have include this, despite it no longer existing.  This is because it was the first taken to a gallery for appraisal.  It received  a mixed opinion about the composition, but favourable by those whose opinion I felt mattered most.  It was again painted at 37 Merchant Street, Bulwell and was painted in my attic studio.  the subject being the canal end  of the Cromford Canal  in Cromford itself.  It was at a time before renovations turned the building in view into a commercial property and a time when the canal was home to lots of young pike. It was sought by several buyers, but I decide to keep it.  Sadly, several years later, though poor storage  it was stepped on and torn beyond restoration.

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Newstead Abbey  18"X12" Oil on Canvas 1990

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Again painted at 37 Merchant Street, this painting started as a larger painting but part way through, I decided that the composition was not interesting enough and therefore cropped the painting to a state where I felt comfortable with its composition.  I did use some artistic license with regards to the path and foliage in the foreground. I still own the painting which hangs in my house. It is a reminder of my earlier work and also of the imperfections which I see in many of my works. I also feel a little uncomfortable with the artistic license used.

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Byron's Garden 30" X 20" Oil on Canvas 2017

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A painting inspired by a visit to the home of Lord Byron, Newstead Abbey, in 2017. It shows steps leading to his private garden. I loved the contrast of the flowers against the foliage and the masonry of the walls.

It is the first painting completed following the leaving of my profession in the NHS and becoming a full time fine artist. It was started in late 2016 and completed in 2017 after several delays.  A short while after completing the painting my wife and I redecorated my mothers home while she was away on holiday.  Not having a painting in her living room, I gave her this painting on permanent loan.  Sadly my mother passed away in July 2020 and the painting came back to me.  It does have some emotional attachment, but due to the lack of space in my home, I have been open to it being purchased for someone else to enjoy.  It unfortunately therefore became one of the paintings involved  in a money laundering attempt in 2020, where someone under the name of Leah Portillo attempted to buy some of my artwork and then 'mistakenly' send a cheque for the wrong amount.  Becoming suspicious of this,  I checked this person online to find that they had done the same to others, sending cheques from a third a third party for thousands of pounds more than the items for sale, with the potential of requesting the excess back. Action Fraud were notified and are still investigating.

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