West London in the 1960s wasn't the most exciting place to grow up. Quiet neighbourhoods with rows of small regimented identical houses with a couple of shops and a chippy at the top of the road. Going to the church youth club on a Sunday. Having a fag with mates down the back alleys and in the swing park. Playing footie on any open space you could find.
But when the Funfair came to town magical things began to happen. You were transported into a realm of difference. Starting with anticipation. Then there was the music and sounds as you got closer. The sense of excitement and possibility of impending danger. Then the lights. Then the smells. The gangs of lads and girls and then the rides. All these youthful feelings combined to trigger a unique sense of escapism. My work now tries to capture that 'old school' frisson of adventure lost in a world of social media and digital sanitisation. All works are hand finished either on wood or an aluminium substrate. They are cut, shaped, textured and riveted to create a pastiche of images that take you to another era.
After studying for four years at art school I started my artistic endeavours as a freelance commercial illustrator. In the late 1970's I created the animated artwork including the infamous 'Flying Sausage' for the Title Sequence of the much loved series 'Grange Hill' and for the drama series 'Pennies From Heaven' by Dennis Potter. These were amongst many commissioned by the BBC.
Later I worked for many years around Camden and Soho in London winning many awards as a creative director for film and television. My work included branding and design and direction for major TV companies and Ad Agencies. I returned to my creative roots in 2003 to showcase the wide variety work I was producing as images for print. This included elaborate photomontages with digitally hand drawn imaging. Much of this developed into social and politically themed Outsider and Urban Art with ironic references to celebrities and mainstream entertainment. In 2011 I moved to Bournemouth and It was here that I started developing my most recent three dimensional fairground art.