Hello let me tell you about myself.

I was born in Derby in 1945 and lived in Derbyshire for 19 years. I was an enthusiastic child and emersed myself in the freedom of the countryside which gave me a life-long interest in landscape and wildlife.

After gaining a science degree at Leicester University I spent 18 years in business in London before becoming a full-time professional artist in 1985.

With the support of my wife Diana, I set up an arts centre, holding residential art courses and day classes for the next 20 years. Throughout this time I have held successful exhibitions of my work together with other exhibitions as far afield as Japan and Jamaica. I have had numerous television appearances, been involved in radio programmes and have produced artwork over several years for BBC television.

I have produced instructional video on painting techniques, and my "Painting Trees and Woodland" is considered a classic in this field.

More recently I have devoted my time to the production of art books. My first book, "Riverside Journey" featured paintings of the delightful River Derwent in my native county of Derbyshire and was published in 2001.

I then took on the momentous 6 year work of painting the Thames, the result being "The Thames An Artists Journey from Source to Sea" published in 2006.

I am now working on three more books.

The first of these to be published will be "Sunrise/Sunset" and will feature atmospheric paintings of some of the British landscapes. The second book will be entitled "Winter" and a third will be a children's book with some charming illustrations.

This will be entitled "Mr Smith's Clock Shop". This is a collection of stories set against historical events. Shown here is a picture of a sewer repair man

who finds himself unexpectedly in the vaults of the Bank of England. Incredibly, this accidental " break-in " was based on a true story.

My interests reach into areas other than painting.

One of my passions is carpentry and I have produced an Elizabethan-style banqueting table (ideal for art students` feasts ) and a Tudor-style four poster bed which I am just completing the final carvings for. Here is an angel which I have just carved for the corner. Its not quite finished yet, just the halo to fit.

Other projects have included a long-case clocks and a summer house for the garden.

I have four children, a daughter living and working in Paris, a son who is a yoga teacher, a second son helping disabled people find jobs in the community and a third son who is a musician. We are a mixed bunch.