While I’ve drawn and painted all my life I’ve always felt too shy, or too uncertain to show my work. The irony is that a sketch I did of Daunt Books bag in the early 90s made its way on to their tote back which I see almost every day as I walk around London. It’s been a funny little secret, with a handful of friends knowing who from time to time send me photos of the bag seen in odd places.

Oil painting has unlocked something for me, and while I have so much to learn - I will always be learning - I hit upon a series of images that felt right for the medium. So when our local art fair announced it was looking for contributors everything sort of came together. This painting, The Man, even though it’s pretty small attracted a lot of comments. Who is he? Where’s he going? What era is he from? I enjoyed hearing people guess. I sold it to a very good friend so I’ll still get to visit him, but for now I need to let him go!