I started to work in sculpture in 2001: having found it too cold to paint outside, sculpture suited a warmer and more internal direction. Early works in clay and plaster were studies of the human form from life models. My first experience with stone was one of ?direct carving? at an African Art workshop. Since then I have taken up ornamental and architectural stone carving as a post graduate as well as figurative and abstract work in studios in London and Italy. I am currently working in my Los Angeles studio on large marble pieces. I always said I would sculpt when my eyesight went; thankfully I have come to it sooner and have embraced it with passion.
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I was invited to participate in a group show on Urban Landscapes of LA.  I wanted to avoid the clichéd images of this city. Through a London contact I got access to the old MGM lot near my home. These movie lots are closed to the public but hold some of this city’s most interesting industrial structures – spaces where films, this cities life-blood, are produced. It drew me in with the stark white buildings against that classic brilliant blue LA sky. I proceeded to paint plein air changing each setting every hour and a half, creating part of each painting and returning to it the next day at the same time.
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This series was based on the bridges near my studio. I like to work from life, which I found hard to do in the less than accommodating English weather. But these bridges were close enough for me to drag my easel and paints to, and when the weather changed make it back before everything was ruined. However, I did loose a few to the river, and one to a dog, and as they were all done in the winter light, I did get very cold!
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In 1999 through the help of a friend I set up a studio in Nepal. It enabled me to sketch and paint my subjects on site. The studio was located between many of the religious centres where I spent most of my time. From Nepal I travelled into the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. This is a jewel of a country, abundant with beauty, and steeped in tradition. I spent most of my time with two young Bhutanese men exploring the country, and sketching many of the festivals and dances that make up the rich fabric of their Buddhist life.
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In 1997 I read an enchanting book called "The Buried treasures of Chinese Turkestan" by Albert Von Le Coq. It inspired me to go (alone) and explore what is now Xinjiang in North West China, and parts of the Tibetan Plateau. This area forms a large part of the Old Silk Route, and is a wildly romantic area. It is a place where the desert meets the ice and where the lives of the people I met have remained unchanged for centuries.
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After the idea for a new series the work starts with drawing. It is the beginning, it is innocence and it captures what is new for the artist. When I travel on my research trips most of my bag is taken up with a wide selection of drawing utensils. The subjects can see the progress, which often opens up a more hospitable situation. There is also a natural editing process that takes place when you draw, i.e. the subject gets up and walks away - this creates a unique dynamic dictated by them (and not the artist.)
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I completed two different collections on Chinese Opera. The first in 1995 focused on the performing legend and the tales behind the operas. The settings were heavily influenced by Chinese poetry and classical landscapes based on extensive journeys I took through five of Chinas largest provinces, and a lot of research!
The next series focused on the brief window of transition that took place as the actor assumed the role, donned the robes put on the make-up. Most of the studies and paintings for the ‘Backstage Opera’ series were created in the temporary bamboo theatres of Southern China and Hong Kong
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