The Story Behind the Art

I've spent most of my life creating things.

The materials have changed over the years—pencil, food, photography and now paint—but looking back, I don't think the creative impulse has ever really changed.

As a child I loved drawing. I could spend hours sketching Disney characters, fascinated by how a blank sheet of paper could become something recognisable.

When I was sixteen, I wanted to go to art college. My parents encouraged me to choose a more secure career, so instead I became a chef.

Oddly enough, I don't think I ever stopped being an artist.

Working in Michelin-starred kitchens during the rise of nouvelle cuisine taught me about colour, balance, texture and composition. Instead of a canvas, I was working on a plate, but many of the same creative decisions were there.

Later, I studied photography at De Montfort University. Photography taught me something different. It slowed me down. It taught me to notice light, atmosphere and the details that most people walk past.

Those lessons still influence every painting I make today.

Moving to the Costa Brava gave me the opportunity to return to something I'd wanted to do since I was a teenager—paint full time.

Today my work is inspired by the Mediterranean landscape, but I'm not trying to make photographic copies of places. I'm far more interested in what a place feels like than exactly what it looks like.

That's why texture has become such an important part of my work. Alongside acrylic and oil, I often use materials such as plaster, clay, copper, iron and fabric. They become part of the painting, helping to create surfaces that feel as weathered and layered as the coastline itself.

Looking back, I don't see my life as a series of different careers.

I see one creative thread running through all of them.

Whether I was drawing, cooking, taking photographs or painting, I was always trying to make something that connected with people.

That's what I'm still trying to do today.