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Artist biography:

Born in June 1964, Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, Cheshire.

Up until the age of four I lived in Marple, Cheshire, then my parents moved to Knutsford in Cheshire where I completed all my schooling up until the age of 18. I left  Knutsford High School with nine O Levels and three A Levels in Maths, Physics and Design.

After my A Levels I went straight to Coventry Polytechnic on a BA (Hons) Industrial Design degree, which turned out to be a mistake as I was not happy there at all, I left after two miserable years.

The good thing about going to Coventry was that I could focus afterwards on what I enjoyed doing and what I was good at, which after taking up painting again whilst unemployed back in Manchester, turned out to be art!. After a year doing odd-jobs, evening classes and signing on I enrolled on a Foundation Art course at South Trafford College in West Timperley, Manchester, with a view to try and get on a Fine Art Degree course. I did very well at South Trafford, achieved a Distinction and regained my confidence, which led to being accepted on a BA (Hons) Degree course in Fine Art at Wolverhampton Polytechnic.

My three years at Wolverhampton were very enjoyable from a social point of view and I managed to get a lot of work done without ever being one of the bright stars. I did however try stone-carving for the first time which I found I had a knack for, but as I still was too involved with my painting I did not seriously pursue the carving. Leaving Wolverhampton, I returned to Manchester at a time when it seemed to be the centre of the world in terms of fashion and music (though not art). I again did casual work including technician work at South Trafford College before I decided I should try and get a teaching qualification to improve my job prospects. 

1990-1991 was the year I spent training for a PGCE in Art and Design (Secondary Education), and also I was one of the founder members of Object Studios artists studio group in Manchester. I did not have much luck in finding teaching work once qualified however, I had to resort again to temporary technician and bar work. I did get more involved in the setting up of Object Studios, refurbishing a derelict building and establishing a working artistic environment ( I eventually left Object Studios in 2001) . My teacher training also opened my eyes to the great innovations happening in computer technology and particularly computer graphics, resulting in my using computer print-outs in my artwork in the form of collage, and also doing graphic work for a computer game for a local software company.

I found steady work in 1995 in the part-time post of an Audio-Visual Technician at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, where I still work today, a job I enjoy for the company of my work-mates, a sociable environment and a chance for me to learn skills in digital and video technology as they develop. Between 1997 and 2003 I also taught part-time Watercolour painting classes at Warrington Collegiate Institute and Eccles College. A couple of days a week I also have free to work on my own artwork at my studio which is now Bankley Studios in Manchester, where I have rented a space since 1997.

Having begun art seriously at the age of twenty, it wasn't until I reached thirty that I realised I had limitations in the field of painting and that it really didn't fully express my thoughts and feelings. Put simply I have too much choice in undertaking an oil or acrylic painting, you can always repaint something, which for me means I will never decide on a finished product because I will always see room for improvement which I am able to change.

In stone-carving you are limited by the process and material , it is a finite process, you cannot chip away forever. This fact would frustrate many artists but I find it focuses my mind, forces me to think ahead and consider all possibilities before I work, so the end result is more satisfactory with all weak areas having been abandoned at earlier stages in the development. In 1994 my father asked me to do some stone carvings for his garden , this experience made me realise stone-carving was the method that suited me best, as well as the intellectual process the physicality of the technique is also rewarding, maybe because you feel greater satisfaction after expending much effort on a piece.