London Marathon 2026

 A bit late but well done to all the runners!

Wishing Everyone a Peaceful, Healthy 2026

 

Scene from Prior Street

Blackheath Art Society Winter Exhibition

 

Mist on the Tavy featured on the Blackheath Art Society Instagram 

Blackheath Art Society Winter Exhibition 2025

 The long awaited Blackheath Art Society Winter Exhibition is just about to start! It runs from 6th November to 18th December at the beautifully restored Blackheath Halls in London and it's free. Here you will find a feast for you eyes with artworks in many different styles and subjects. If you are looking for a unique Christmas gift and wish to browse in a relaxed atmosphere, look no further! To find out more please visit the Blackheath Halls website here .

This year my two entries are;

Cavalry Trumpeter. This painting was part of a collection entitled 'Farewell to Woolwich'. In 2014 The Royal Artillery Band left Woolwich after 250 years and this group of paintings were made from on the spot sketches of the farewell parade. For further information on this please click here Marking an Historic Occasion.

Cavalry Trumpeter (framed) oil on board, H 28.8 x W 29.5 £800

Mist on the Tavy. The river Tavy is in Devon a county I have a long standing love affair with, having been evacuated to Seaton as a child during the Second World War.

Mist on the Tavy, oil on board, L 31 x W 41 £350

We very much hope that you enjoy this exhibition.

Reprint of 'To Seaton With Love'

 In the 1980's I wrote a booklet 'To Seaton With Love, Memoirs of an Evacuee 1940 - 1945'. The booklet describes what it was like to arrive in Devon as a child and have 5 carefree years growing up in the beautiful town of Seaton in Devon. Ted Gosling, the Museum Curator for many years, who sadly has only recently departed, was a great encouragement to write up my escapades and memories from this time. This little booklet has just recently been reprinted and is for sale at the Museum with all proceeds going to the Axe Valley Heritage Museum. If you would like a copy please contact the Axe Valley Heritage Museum 

Terry at the Cricket Ground, Seaton with John Shore in the background 1941/2.

Sketchbook Notes

 Over the years I have built up many sketchbooks, they are a valuable source of information for completed works. They act as a memory aid, sometimes an accurate painting follows from the sketch and other times parts are used from different sketches with a bit of poetic licence thrown in! Going through these sketchbooks with my daughter I thought it would make an interesting post to see a few before and after's...

The Barley Mow Pub in Greenwich - sold.

Digby Fairweather Band at The Festival Hall, London.

Dockers Shelter, Redriffe Road, Bermondsey, London. 1970.

Clock, Stool and Fireplace (neat version!).

Do-It-Yourself.

Under Hungerford Bridge 1992.

Java Wharf - sold

Timer Going Overside, Surrey Docks, 1982

The Welders at Pipers Wharf - sold.

Going through the sketchbook 2025.

Sidney Jacob Scales

 My father Sidney Jacob Scales, was a stevedore who worked in the Royal Albert Docks all his life. Both the journey to work through the Blackwall Tunnel every day and the work itself was hard. I drew these sketches between the late 1940's and 50's when my father came home from work exhausted. It was a tough life as these sketches show but his exhaustion meant he was the perfect model for his teenage son at Camberwell School of Art! Now looking back they seem to speak volumes...

Happy Festivities!

Wishing all my friends, customers and random searchers a very Happy Christmas holiday

 and all best wishes for a more peaceful world in 2025.

Blackheath Art Society Winter Exhibition 8th November - 19th December 2024

On show at The Blackheath Halls, for more information please visit blackheathartsociety.org.uk

 and The Blackheath Halls

A wonderful opportunity to buy unique gifts and support local talent! Wander in and peruse at your leisure, entry is free.

The Lizzie at Lovells Wharf

 It is always a special pleasure to sell a painting to a buyer with connections to the Thames. This painting was bought by someone whose family worked as dockers at the wharf and for whom it holds precious memories.

The Lizzie at Lovells Wharf - sold

Children Paddling 1950

 This painting was made in 1950 during a time when there were many water tanks left lying around. During the war these tanks were used to put out incendiary bombs and this painting whilst not strictly 'true' was based on a typical Bermondsey scene. This painting was in fact a study for a larger work which was one of the first paintings I exhibited while a student at Camberwell School of Art (in a college show) and to my delight was bought by Sir William Coldstream. This smaller study, a happy memory, is not for sale.  

Oil on board 460mm W x 470mm.

A Very Happy Christmas

 And a Peaceful, Healthy 2024 

Blackheath Art Society Winter Exhibition 16th November to 18th December 2024.

Come and visit Blackheath Halls to see an amazing array of local talent brighten and dazzle the walls of the halls! Your chance to treat yourself or someone special to a unique gift that will keep on giving. 

The wonderful thing about this venue is that you can sit down, relax and have a drink and peruse the paintings at your leisure unobserved and without any pressure! All of the paintings are for sale and would make a truly special gift. Please do come and visit and see if there is something that catches your eye! If you are a local artist and thinking of joining the Blackheath Art Society please get in touch, we are a very welcoming group and always keen to have new members.

My submission for this years show...

Vanbrugh Castle - A Gothic Fantasy, medium; oils, size; 77.5cm x 62.4cm, price £350. 

For more information on visiting the Blackheath Halls please visit;

 https://www.blackheathhalls.com/whats-on/blackheath-art-society-winter-exhibition-2/

Winter Exhibition Belgrave St Ives Cornwall 25th November to 8th January 2024

 Delighted to find a painting of mine featured in this winter exhibition alongside many illustrious names like Graham Sutherland, Paul Cezanne, Barbara Hepworth, Patrick Heron, Ben Nicholson and Paul Nash. Even better though to appear in an exhibition alongside many of my old colleagues and peers; Victor Pasmore, Anthony Eyton, Francis Hoyland, and John Christopherson.

Please visit the Belgrave St Ives website to see all the works for sale 

https://www.belgravestives.co.uk/exhibitions/1257/winter-exhibition-2023