Artist's Bio

I was born in Stannington, in Northumberland in 1958 of Polish Parents. I grew up in the small mining village of Pegswood and started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil. 

I initially studied art at Newcastle Art College (Bath Lane) on a Foundation Course, I did get accepted onto a BA Degree at course at Newcastle, but due to financial commitments - my parents couldn't really afford to send me to College, then left the north east, joining the Metropolitan Police in London, and after 30 years, ended my service at New Scotland Yard, and retired in 2009 as the senior Detective Police Artist.

Received accredited training with the Home Office and a Forensic Diploma with the FBI (Quantico). During a thirty year career, was involved in major crime investigations of all serious crimes, as an expert witness in the fields of composite sketching (Police Sketch),  Photo-FIT, Computer composites (E-FIT), Photo Comparisons and Facial Mapping techniques.  

In November 2011 to January 2012, recently took part in assisting Rivane’s Neuenschwander’s First Love exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, where I was tasked as a former police sketch artist to interview and sketch visitors to her exhibition, and then compile their own First Love memories in a artists sketch, which were included in the Exhibition itself. Filmed by the Irish News TV and participated in an open panel discussion on memory at the IMMA.

I was invited down to Kensington in London to participate in the Memory Marathon being held at the Serpentine Gallery. Each participant was allotted 15 minutes to give a presentation on their own area's of excellence, mine being recalling traumatic memory from witnesses during my career as a senior police artist at New Scotland Yard.

In March 2015 I was chosen out of over 6500 applicants as one of the ten finalists, to appear in the very first series of the Big Painting Challenge on BBC One.

My graphite work (as a result of my evidential background) is of a very photorealistic nature but I am starting to become a little looser in my painting style. 

My favourite medium after graphite is acrylic and oils, which I love to use when I’m painting landscapes, animals, dogs, horses and portraits. After years of using graphite pencils, I am only now, feeling I am finding my own style in using colour, and hopefully, can try and achieve the detail in my paintings I know can achieve in pencil.

I am lucky to be able to work from my own studio, where I hold weekly art workshops twice weekly, in these I teach students in basic drawing and sketching techniques (pencil, charcoal, pastels) as well as painting in acrylic, watercolours and oils.

In between my paintings and taking commissions, walking my two Samoyed dogs in the local Northumbrian countryside, photography is one of my passions, and love taking photos of the local are as inspiration for my art.

I also illustrated for the well read Northumbrian magazine.

I have created a number of sketching and painting tutorials and made a YouTube video of my self portrait creation in acrylic.

I have written a art autobigraphy book, Pencil and Paint, as well as created an Acrylic Painting Tutorial iBook which is free to download.

I also give demonstrations and workshops to local art groups and communities. My wife and I are active foster carers for both Harrow and Newcastle fostering. I like to say that we have seven children (actually three sons, a daughter, three long term residential foster children, we are loan carers to Newcastle from Harrow).

I'm an unforgettable character easily recognized locally by my long silver hair and cowboy hat, both of which accompany me wherever I wander (sounds like a song title that!).