SLEEPY CHIMPANZEE

I sculpted this as a bit of fun, i like a bit of fun, and what better way to illustrate chilling out and what it means, than a very relaxed chimpanzee dreaming of the ladies, he is in chimp heaven, and he could teach us all a little about the art of relaxation. I think i may produce this little fella in a small bronze edition of 9. Every time you feel stressed, just have a little chimp time, him on your studio table, or shelf, but keep him close, because he is bound to be good company, and he will do you good.

"Its DINNER time!!"

This is a piece I sculpted a few months ago, please excuse the quality of the photo... but i took it. Its a one- off terracotta patinated to look like bronze, and  somehow it reflects the way i feel sometimes...thank God! i dont have claws!  I love powerful pieces of art, they somehow drive us on to better things, to be stronger than we are maybe. Can you imagine being a lion. all that meat every day, no fricking salad for miles, gets a bit samey wouldn't it, oh Christ! here we go again, chase me! chase me, those fricking antelope don't make it easy, all i want to do is chill out, and all they want to do is PISS ME OFF!!, bastards, i,ll get em....... HERE"S LEO!!!

My copy of William Callows watercolour

This is a copy of a watercolour (William Callow) I did some time ago. I think it is good to copy great works of art, as its not a question of, "can i do it"? its more like,"  how did that artist "feel" when he painted it,? and i think its the nearest we can come to experiencing that . I have at times copied my own oils or watercolours, and it is bloody difficult!, you try it!, make it exactly the same as the original!, its practically impossible, but good fun. i painted a Van Gogh's sunflowers once and i couldn't paint it gently,  i found myself "stabbing!" the paint onto the canvas,  it felt mad!,  maybe he was....maybe i am? who fucking cares anyway, its all a load of bollocks in the end.

Holy Island, Lindisfarne Nothumbria, England

This oil was done from my sketches that i did while on holiday in Yorkshire.  Lindisfarne is a majestic, awe inspiring landscape, and Its best to see it on a cold brooding winters day, because that is the only way to really appreciate what it would have been like for the monks that  inhabited that heart of the soul. You can imagine the centuries of learning and culture that was Lindisfarne.  Most remember the onslaught of the viking hoards that tried to obliterate the minds of culture that the monks gave to posterity, but they failed, as all despots do in the end, good is more powerful than evil.

Hells Angel (Lee Hurst)

My son Sean

My son Sean is a games designer for Euro com in derby. I frighten him to death with my driving, and lust for life, its some of these things that will come to him as he matures...i think. I don't want to embarrass him to much...but to hell with it! i will! For him to be the best he can be, i repeat this mantra time and time again, like a broken record, ANATOMY!    WORK FROM LIFE!  Its the only way to be great, ok! use a photo now and again if you have to, and why not? the old masters would have, given half the chance, but life is best if kept simple, leave out the detail, ok! its good to show off now and again, but a bit o splodge is more controlled than any detail can be, its knowing where to put the splodge that matters, without retracing your footsteps and fiddling...ok Sean?

Chloe

This girl Chloe is my Grandaughter. She is  a powerful character, and i think i have captured that tenaciousness in her personality. wherever that power comes from is beyond all knowledge, its as though some people have been around the block a few times, and they collect all the little bits of life that made them strong for their future developments, and that's how i like to think of it.

chinese vase still life

Just needed lots of colour! and the way i can enjoy painting colour is through still life, there's more control of your subject, and i find it a great way to relax, take your time, light not shifting, chilling out! Better than a spontaneous splodge at times.

Lindisfarne upturned boat shed.

This is an oil on canvas i did when i was on holiday at Lindisfarne Holly island, a very fascinating place, the island is magical, and is filled with an ageless atmosphere, that draws you into it, it is like the dismembered limb that is hanging on by a thread of its umbilical cord, from the mainland, and from its tragic, yet exiting creativity. She sleeps at the moment , but the feeling is, that her  disturbed slumber would shake you into life again!

The fen country

This is a sketch of the fen, in and around my home in Cambridgeshire England. It is oil on canvas and is 12 x 15 inches in size." They" say the fen is a boring place because of its flatness, but i see things differently, and unless you have walked in the fen over many years you would not realize the magic and mystery that ancient place holds. You could at one time have sailed sea going vessels from the north sea and into the whittlesey mere and anchor at Farcet, a small village on the edge of the fen, the port is long gone now, as have the ancient oak forests that used to sprawl over the fen thousands of years ago. And every now and again the ghosts of their atmospheres rise and shift through the fen on bright moonlight nights and water sodden days of old.

Mr Phil

This is a portrait bronze of Mr Phil, a real gentleman. It is life size on a granite base.

Athenian horse trainer

This is a bronze i did after being inspired by the Parthenon marbles in the the British museum, It is 16 x 17 inches in size.

Her Majesty the Queens "RIO"

I was commissioned by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth  in 1979 to sculpt "Rio" her lead horse from the state coach. It was while I was with Clairmont fine china and we were at the East of England showground at Peterborough that her Majesty noticed my work on her visit there in 1979. The first commission she asked me to do was Mulgrave supreme, her hunter, it was a Cleveland bay and was based at her stables in Yorkshire. After  Mulgrave came "Rio" here illustrated, and this was a visit to the Buckingham palace mews where i got all the help and attention from Sir John Miller, the Queen;s equerry, and what a lovely chap he was, a real gentleman, no airs and graces, just a good human being. I collected many photographs and quick little pencil sketches, thank God for photography! for without it i would have been there for a week just sketching the detail on the harness! The third piece i put to-gether for Her Majesty, was Prince Philips Four- in - Hand, the team that he drives on the cross country events. That is a bronze, it is 4 feet in length on a Verde marble base. I am currently, patiently waiting for the next commission, lets hope its an oil portrait of the most "down- to - earth" couple i have met.

Head study (oils)

This is a portrait of my stepson John, which i painted as a sketch with a lot of "spontaneous splodge!" It is painted in oils on canvas and is 12 x 16 inches and it took 3 hours. I just love to let go with most stuff really, but the "spontaneous splodge" is the most satisfying, it inhabits so much of the life of the subject, as if the empty spaces are trying to cath themselves up, a bit like we all are, were all full of empty spaces trying to keep us all together.

Hello!

Hey everyone, this is my journey in the wide range of arts I have acquired. I am currently writing my autobiography which I will post on here when it is completed,which includes working for royalty, and  film stars, as well as all the other ordinary wonderful stuff we like to do. Let's learn from each other!