I was really chuffed to discover I’d been elected as a provisional member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters following on from the annual open exhibition in December. It’s a great honour and I look forward to being an active member throughout the year. I’ve exhibited at the ROI show for the last 5 years in a row and enjoyed every one of them. It’s a great motivator and certainly keeps me on my toes when attempting to have work selected from such a high quality field.

The likes of Whistler, Sickert, Fantin Latour and Rodin are past members and the current membership has a formidable spread of talent. No pressure then! Actually, I thrive on the challenge of producing better and better work. It’s what draws me into painting….the process of developing and evolving. It’s easy to get stuck and fall into a comfort zone but those ruts can be hard to escape from. Equipped with forethought, knowledge and experience it’s about being immersed in the moment and making the very best I can of that moment.