BAKER, DARREN
Born and bred in Huddersfield Darren graduated from Bradford Art College in 1998 and quickly rose to fame exhibiting widely with shows throughout Europe, Japan, North America and the UK. He has also developed an impressive portfolio of sports portraits for clubs and personalities alike, with his appointment as official artist of The Professional Footballer’s Association (PFA) affording him considerable recognition within the celebrity industry.

Darren Baker has subsequently produced portraits for other sporting personalities including David Ginola, Peter Schmeichel, Henrik Larsson, Prince Naseem, Nigel Mansell and Jonny Wilkinson, and PFA Footballer of the Year portraits of John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Teddy Sheringham, as well as a tribute to ex-Huddersfield forward Frank Worthington, based on black and white photographs of the player. Sporting clubs who have promoted his art include Manchester United, Leeds United, Glasgow Celtic, Bradford City, Yorkshire Cricket, and Leeds Rhinos. In 1999 a major exhibition of Darren Baker’s work took place at Leeds Civic Hall. The Leeds United Retrospective saw over 30 players represented in oils and pastels, attracting regional and national TV, radio and press attention.

Darren Baker has also been commissioned to produce portraits for HRH Prince Charles and Tony Blair, which hang in St James Palace and Downing Street respectively.
His most prestigious commission arrived when he was asked to produce a wonderfully detailed portrait of Her Majesty the Queen; an accolade accorded to a very small number of painters in the monarch’s lifetime.

Darren Baker’s fine art works span a number of subjects including interiors, figurative works, equestrian and ballet studies, portraits and landscapes. Taking inspiration from the Old Masters and contemporary realist painters, Darren Baker has become a leading light in the genre of Classical Realism, receiving numerous awards including best artist at The Fine Art trade guild ceremony in London and The Garrick Prize, Christies, London. His contemporary paintings are increasingly sought-after by collectors internationally and hang in both public and private art collections including the House of Lords, Downing Street and St James Palace. Darren has recently been selected to exhibit his fine art at the Florence Biennale, the most prestigious and respected contemporary art event in the world.
 

BARKER, BOB
"It was on Christmas morning, when I was twelve years old, that my mother gave me one of the best presents I have ever received - an oil painting set. That was the start and I have been painting ever since. I was immediately captivated by what could be achieved with a brush, some oil paint and a few small squares of hardboard; I used to paint on the reverse side because I thought it looked like proper canvas.
My mother was a weaver in a mill not far from my school and when my day there ended, I used to walk to the mill and wait for her to finish work. I loved the smell of the looms and talked to everybody in the spinning sheds, the burling and mending room, the winders and tuners, along with my grandmother who was the 'cha' lady there. This is where my love of tea comes from, as well as the images I now paint. With no formal training I have just enjoyed painting in many different styles and with numerous subjects, developing and honing my techniques of brush and palette knife.
Although I am Yorkshire born and bred, during my youth I spent a little while in Cornwall. There I met two prominent artists (Keith English & Tom Gower) and spent hours watching them paint. Conversations with them made me believe I could be a professional artist.
However, as life goes on, marriage to my lovely wife, mortgage to whoever was the cheapest, and children who I wouldn't be without, meant that painting remained as a hobby. I ran my own business in video and media production for more than 20 years and this took me around the country and abroad, filming for many clients and running workshops teaching primary school and A-level students the art of video making. My daughter-in-law now runs the business and this has released me to achieve my lifelong dream of being a working artist.
In 2000, I started selling my paintings to local galleries and through them my work went nation-wide. My older brother Colin ever-so-nicely, yet relentlessly, forced CD's featuring my images on to many fine art publishers. This created a good interest in my work. In 2005, I exhibited at the Autumn Fair in Birmingham and there I was introduced to Glyn Washington of Washington Green and the rest, as they say, is history."
 

BARKER, GORDON
"I was born in Gibraltar in 1960. My father was in the army so my family moved around the world until we finally settled in Northamptonshire when I was twelve.
I have always had a vivid imagination and even from a young age I’ve found art fascinating. However, it wasn’t until I came to secondary school that I was given the encouragement from my art teacher to paint and draw in many different ways and to let my own style grow and develop, although in those days my work was very abstract. My art teacher encouraged me to go to Art College in London but I chose to start work instead.
On leaving school I continued to paint in oil, but I was always experimenting with different materials such as glass. I had a few local exhibitions but also ventured to London with my work.
In 1981 I began to paint landscapes for the first time. Initially these were mostly sunsets and silhouettes, but in time I began to paint pictures with more colours and many different subjects. I met my wife in 1982 and I even gave her photographs of my paintings to take home with her until our next date! Of course I made sure I was in one of the photos too!
In late 1983 I sold my first painting to a recording company in Milton Keynes. This gave me the confidence to promote my work to a wider market. This was just the start. Over the next few years I sold about eight hundred originals to companies like MTV Europe, The Gap and also many private collectors, many of these being commissions which have
helped to develop my unique style of painting.
I have paintings in corporate and private collections in many countries in the world such as France, Germany, South Korea, USA, Denmark and the United Kingdom.
The landscapes I paint are mostly ones that I’ve created in my imagination. I like to make the pictures ‘busy’ so that each time someone looks at it they notice something else going on. I prefer bright vivid colours that grab people’s attention rather than drab and boring.
I am passionate about my creations and as soon as I finish a painting I am constantly thinking of my next one. I never lose the desire to create another work of art.
The best thing about being an artist is that I start off with a blank white canvas and gradually, as my imagination takes over, the colours flow until I finish with a colourful, busy story that I hope will grab people’s attention and take their imagination to another level. I want people to enjoy my art and see things in my paintings that also mean something personal to them.
We have 3 cats and I almost always paint a cat in my pictures – sometimes you will have to look hard to find them!
My pictures appeal to both adults and children, each person seeing in the image what they want to see. A child may look at it and see just a train, an adult may look at that same train and remember a ride they took many years ago – it is all a personal journey. Each one as individual as my art form."
 

BARRETT, ROY
When in 1993 Roy Barrett took the opportunity of redundancy from his high profile career as Art Director with the BBC, he was able to throw himself into combining his two great passions, painting and motoring, and turn professional artist.
Since then his name has become internationally recognised for his unique style, in which he combines his narrative abilities, with a love of all things mechanical, to produce watercolours and oils which celebrate the beauty and character of classic vehicles, set within contemporary and nostalgic scenarios.
Roy’s limited edition fine art lithographs of classic motorcycles are now collected by enthusiasts worldwide, new releases in his ‘Italian Job’ series are eagerly awaited by Mini owners, original watercolours are snapped up almost before dry, and as word has spread Roy now finds his skills much in demand for commission work.
‘’The greatest feeling is watching the joy on a clients face as you reveal their painting for the first time. I used to entertain people telling stories with a TV camera, now I use a paintbrush.’’
‘’The only drawback…….I am so busy painting that my restoration projects are taking twice as long.’’
Following the decision to produce Limited Edition Fine Art Prints from his motorcycle paintings, even wider audiences are now able to enjoy and collect Roy's work. With agents in this country, America and Australia, now promoting his work through galleries, demand has grown rapidly for the Limited prints and many of the editions are now sold out.
Although primarily known for his motorcycle paintings, Roy is continually looking at new subject matter to which to apply his unique style. Currently he is developing work based on a number of his favourite passions, Rock and Roll, Aircraft, Railways, Portraiture, and the female Life-study, whilst also endeavouring to expand the range of 'Bike' subjects.
On the rare days when he is not painting, sculpting or attending shows, Roy's relaxation is playing guitar, working on the restoration of his Suzuki 500, and Lambretta SX, or best of all riding around the Devon lanes on his Yamaha XS650.
 

BARROW, DAVID
David has been a professional artist for 35years. This is in recognition of his strong and diverse body of work. One of the strengths of David's talent is his ability to change styles and constantly reinvent himself. His creative drive means he is always looking towards the next project.
Included within his many achievements over the years is being exhibited four times at The Royal Academy London, The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, The Royal Scottish Academy, The Mall Gallery London as well as countless others. David has certainly earned his place as one of the most exciting and collectable artists around today.
 

BARSBY, ADAM
Born in Leicester in 1969 Adam showed an early artistic talent which would eventually lead him to graduate from Kent Institute of Art and Design in Maidstone with a First Class Honours Degree. Following his graduation in 1992 Adam worked on several freelance projects for art galleries and magazines whilst developing his distinctive style. In 1996 he decided to commit himself to painting on a full time basis. His confidence was soon rewarded by invitations to exhibit at many prestigious galleries throughout the UK and the highly successful launch of his range of Limited Editions and Original Silkscreen Prints.
Adam draws his inspiration from the romantic element of the world around us, and describes his work as developing on a natural slant from story-telling. His unique view of life, characterised by stylised images, rich colours and thought provoking narratives, continue to take the art world by storm.
Adam's unique talent has gained him the prestigious John Solomon Trophy for Best Selling Artist of 1998, Best Up and Coming Artist for 1999 and three nominations for Best-Selling Published Artist 2000, 2001 and 2002 from the Fine Art Trade Guild. Demand for Adam's Original Paintings continues to grow and although his Limited Editions and sculptures sell out on publication, but he is still seeking new creative outlets for his ideas.
 

BEECHAM, GREG
The son of the artist Tom Beecham, Greg grew up hunting, fishing, observing nature and learning to draw—always aware of a yearning to follow in his father’s footsteps. He remembers standing for hours with his dad, studying the movements of whitetail deer in the woods behind their home. His dream of studying full-time with his father had to be postponed until Greg completed a tour in the U.S. Navy. He enlisted as a hospital corpsman and served on the Guided Missile Destroyer the USS John S. McCain, which sailed home from Vietnam just six days after Beecham reported for duty. Finally, in 1978, after a few years at Southern Oregon State College, father and son dedicated themselves to developing Greg’s fine art career. At an art show in 1985, Beecham was further inspired by Bob Kuhn, who gave me “permission,” as Greg puts it, to play with paint. Since then, Beecham has won many awards for his fluid unions of animal and environment, including Best of Show, People’s Choice and Artist’s Choice awards at the C.M. Russell Auction; Best of Show, People’s Choice and Featured Artist honours at the Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show, and the Wildlife Art News Award at the Society of Animal Artist’s Art Exhibition. He was just asked to be special guest artist at the ‘99 Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. In addition, Beecham’s artwork has been exhibited in the Museum of Natural History in Beijing, China and is in the permanent collection of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum and the Clymer Museum in Ellensburg, Washington. A devout Christian, Greg Beecham honours the beauty of creation while raising his children to become productive, caring people and remaining a loving husband to his wife of more than twenty years. “I try to create interesting compositions, complimented by dynamic colour harmonies, light and value,” he says. “My motto? Do all things unto the Lord and get so good you can’t be ignored.”
 

BELL, ROZANNE
Rozanne Bell is the epitome of fun. She is a flamboyant gregarious character with a unique creative imagination that knows no bounds. Rozanne has a sunny disposition, full of originality and wit. She is an exciting and entertaining person; full of energy and vibrancy and her art mirrors all these qualities. Rozanne has five children and her artwork is embroidered into the heart of her family life.
Rozanne Bell was born in Zimbabwe and she lived there for 40 years. She exhibited all over southern Africa and, through tourism, an American market for her work evolved. From Guernsey to Ghana her paintings hang in many banks and boardrooms all over the world.
In 2002, the situation in Zimbabwe necessitated Rozanne's move to England. Rozanne's ability to adapt to a new environment coupled with her optimistic determination to succeed had brought a breath of fresh air to the British art market.
The latest works by Rozanne Bell exhibit her unique view of an architectural landscape encompassing a curious and whimsical character combined with a realism and grittiness unequalled in the art world today. Rozanne Bell's sense of fun and artistic integrity combine to create highly desirable microcosms inhabited by the peoples of one's imagination.
The subjects of Rozanne Bell's paintings are novel; new and full of vitality. The influence of her African upbringing combined with the injection of British humour has ensured that Rozanne's paintings are much in demand. With no restriction of formal art training, Rozanne is able to cultivate her natural flair and zany approach. Her disciplined inspiration has provided exhibitions in Surrey, Dorset and Suffolk.

BENFIELD, GARY
Gary Benfield was born December 6th, 1965 in Birmingham, England. He studied art at Stourbridge College of Art (1982 – 1984) and at Wrexham College of Art (1984 – 1986). In 1986, Benfield became a professional freelance illustrator. After leaving the academic world he set up his own studio near London and concentrated on drawing and painting figures. Within a few years, his work was being collected throughout Europe and his reputation had become firmly established. Benfield has a natural talent for depicting things as seen. His work is spontaneous and reflected by his drawn lines and dashes of colour. The figures dissolve in and out of their backgrounds and move across the canvas. He paints rapidly and discards most of his paintings and drawings, keeping only those he feels are perfected in their conception rather than overwork those that are not correct. His paintings represent a discrete world of objects which combine figures, mythology, nature, and still life. Despite the casual appearance of his compositions, all imagery is highly organized, and after long observations one finds the hidden symmetry and beauty beneath the layers of finery. The background of his paintings is soft, reminiscent of Leonardo de Vinci’s sketches and sepia tones, most of it defined only with pencil and a slight highlight of colour. For Benfield, the world around him is a continuous sequence of fortuitous events. Objects and figures intertwine in his mind, they dance, they fuse and one adopts the colour and life of another. We are drawn into an intimate world of his imagery, where sensuality and delight in life’s form are combined in a flight of frolic and fantasy. Benfield is considered to be one of the most renowned contemporary artists in the art world today. His work is collected by art collectors worldwide.
 

BLAKELY, HAMISH
Hamish comes from a theatrical background. His childhood home was a place where extraordinary things happened. Drawing was the original expression. Hamish would draw an awful lot, trying to emulate other artists, to understand how they created what they did.
Having stubbornly lived in the world of black and white, Hamish made himself paint at age 18. This was the first time he had made a painting so seriously. It was a portrait of his Dad. This was the turning point. Painting replaced drawing completely. He studied at Wimbledon School of Art and Kingston University, and only drew again at college to completely give it up when he left. He now paints immediately, considering preparatory sketches unnecessary.
Hamish became an illustrator shortly after leaving college and received a national award. He now paints full time.
 

BOWEN, JOE
Joe Bowen lives in the heart of Mid Wales with his family, amongst rolling hills and valleys which provide a constant source of inspiration.

His work has developed over many years from traditional figurative painting through a number of stages to the more liberal and vigorous style he now employs.

Joe Bowen's paintings sell prolifically in the UK and have been collected abroad.

BOWEN, LAURENCE LLEWELYN
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is the UK’s premier celebrity designer and artist. His unique personal approach fuses contemporary minimalism with the glamour of styles gone by, and his enormous popularity has established his status as an arbiter of taste for the British public.
Laurence was born in 1965 in London. In 1986 he graduated with honours from Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and embarked on a career in design. Initially he worked for a company specialising in industrial flooring and was responsible for many of their best selling designs.
From here Laurence went on to work with a team of interior designers, eventually setting up his own design consultancy which has undertaken an impressive range of multi-million pound refurbishments. His latest venture is the launch of a portfolio of stunning artwork inspired by his love of historical art and interior design.
 

BOYCE, KAY
Kay Boyce was born in Sheffield. As a child she would often spend hours at a time drawing on rolls of wallpaper; this was the beginning of her passion for drawing. Kay Boyce studied illustration at college before working as a Freelance Illustrator. She produced editorial work for Woman's Weekly, Bella, My Weekly, Sunday Express and Woman's Own.
Boyce's illustration work has carried her through to major book publishers such as Hodder & Staughton, Wadsworth Romantics, Mills & Boon and Mandarin. Although Kay Boyce is proud of her achievement in commercial illustration her true vocation is as an artist.
Boyce's career as an Artist has flourished; her pastel and pencil drawings have become instantly recognisable. Kay Boyce is often to be found working in her studio at her home in the Glyn Morlas valley, near Oswestry, with the background voices of Radio 4.
It is her empathy for the female form in movement, combined with a love of original Victorian clothes and antiques which she collects that inspire her to produce the soft, yet sensual images that have become her trademark. There is a fine line between eroticism and sensuality and Kay Boyce achieves the right balance. Kay Boyce also draws inspiration, from famous works such as those by Edgar Degas, Botticelli and Alma Tasimer: their use of composition and how they portray the texture in their materials intrigue her.
Kay Boyce rarely titles her images herself, although there is one particular title that holds a place in her heart: 'Little Lizzy', this is the pet name her Father gave her when she was a young girl.
 

PETER BROOK RBA (1927 – 2009)
Peter Brook was born in the winter of 1927 in the Pennine village of Scholes near the 'summer wine' county of Holmfirth. His parents were farmers initially and Peter grew up among milk carts, helping with the haymaking and drinking ginger beer made by his grandmother. Both winter and the Pennines would continue to play a large part in this Yorkshire painter’s life.
Peter was educated at Barnsley Grammar School before moving on to teacher training at Goldsmiths College, part of London University, where he visited exhibitions and galleries whilst also attending evening classes in life drawing. After two years in the RAF Peter returned to Yorkshire where he became a teacher in Rastrick, near Brighouse, West Yorkshire. There he married Molly.
In Brighouse he found everything he needed to test his skills and start his life in art: its factories, stone built houses, colours, shapes and people. Initially he used thick paints, but this didn't give him the effect he wanted. This came when he began to mix very fine sandstone from a nearby quarry into the paint for the buildings, which gave them more substance and more power and was contrasted with his smooth sky lines which might be made using rags, rollers or his fingers.
In 1960 Peter had his first one man exhibition at the Wakefield City Art Gallery. It was a success and was
favourably reviewed in The Times.
By 1962 Peter had been elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. Now he was teaching at Sowerby Bridge Grammar School, building up a successful art department, taking pupils out to draw the surrounding country: 'if you want a subject, look around you'.
Two very successful exhibitions in the Queens Square Art Gallery, Leeds in the mid sixties were followed by another show at the University of York in 1968.
Peter would say that 'All the time there have been places that caught my imagination, places that I feel very strongly about that I've had to paint'.
However, like other great artists Peter wasn't about to stand still and continue to paint the same images in the same style. Having discovered a set of old victorian photographs of Yorkshire he was inspired by the possibilities these offered. He loved the print-like quality, a process that interested him. Thick paint was replaced by much thinner paint with smooth finishes but the paintings had great depth and interest. For Peter the title is very much an important part of the painting, adding poetry and humour to the paintings whilst also making the observer think, as the title may not always be obvious when first looking at the painting.
 

BURK, DAVE
David Burk is a self taught artist from Buckinghamshire, who started painting in 1999 to pass the time after injuries brought a halt to his carpet fitting career, and sport of motorcycle trials riding. "I was pretty bored just sitting there, and was grateful when the F1 season started and I had something to cheer about. As with most television viewers, we tend to have our favourites, and I seem to applaud the underdog. I was delighted to see Eddie Irvine take the 1999 season opener, and revived a childhood hobby by trying to paint a tribute to this first win. It took me months, but I made quite a nice job of it! In the meantime, Eddie won again, team mate Michael Schumacher broke his leg, and Ferrari were seemingly pushing Eddie toward the title. I had all the inspiration I needed, and kept painting." 7 years on and some 40 paintings later, David is now a highly regarded motor sport artist. He has covered most forms of motor sport including Formula One, World Rally, Endurance and Historic racing, and is now leaning further toward his real passion of motorcycle racing. His work has been officially endorsed with driver signed editions from Sir Stirling Moss, 2001 World Rally Champions Richard Burns and Robert Reid, and Bentleys’ 2003 Le Mans winner Guy Smith. "I've had the pleasure of meeting so many of my heroes, I really have lost count. I’m still a passionate fan first and foremost, so I have some superb memories, not to mention some tremendous personalised memorabilia from heroes of mine, who have taken time out to actually meet me! It can be an extremely rewarding job."
 

BYE, JOHN
John was born in Styvechale, Coventry, in 1970. His artistic talents were realized from an early age. He has spent most of his artistic life producing portraits and studies of animals in graphite pencil. Only recently has he taken to painting. His painting 'Wise Man of Africa' won him a prize and a position amongst the best of British Artists in The Daily Mails' "Not the Turner Prize". John’s talent enables him to produce a wide and varying range of painting - from detailed and photographic to impressionist and contemporary.
 

CANNON, DANIEL
Daniel Cannon was born in Guildford in 1970. Always creative, Daniel's main working life has been spent as a Gardener. In 2009, Daniel met his Wife Wendy in Yorkshire and his life then changed enormously. Wendy (already an Artist) inspired and encouraged Daniel to 'give it a go' and since then he has gone from strength to strength and never looked back. Now two years on and several successful exhibitions and numerous commissions, Daniel's extraordinary bright and fresh style is becoming increasingly popular and is getting more and more well known around West Yorkshire and Lancashire where he is fully booked up with Exhibitions until the end of 2012. Daniel paints from his imagination using Acrylics which is his favoured medium. His work has also been featured in papers for supplying a local Restaurant with his Artwork, which also brought more commissioned work from other Restaurants.  'Painting is my life now and brings me such a sense of peace and achievement that I just don’t get from doing anything else'.
 

CARTER, PAM
Born in Tanganyika, East Africa to an Austrian mother and Scottish father, Pam moved to Scotland at the age of thirteen. She graduated from Glasgow School of Art in the seventies and immediately embarked on a career in teaching. After being based in Braidfield High School for four years, she took a year out to study in Chicago, then spent a further two years teaching art in the glorious setting of the Seychelles. From the mid-eighties she taught in various colleges until in August 2004 she gave up her academic career to concentrate on painting full time.
Pam's dazzling seascapes originate on the rugged West Coast of Scotland with its isolated cottages and wild colours and amongst the majestic cliffs and fishing villages of the East Coast. In her own words: "A sense of a place is important in my work but for me it's not about capturing a scene with complete accuracy. Sometimes it is the elements and the untamed force of nature that inspire, but more than anything it is the essential quality of the light which can be found in the Scottish land and seascape. I often interpret the scene with abstract elements allowing the paint to work for me. I translate this light in terms of contrast and colour - often bold but always with subtlety and balance. I ultimately want to create a visual sensation and pleasing image."
Pam's award winning artwork is held in an impressive range of private and corporate collections. She has also held numerous solo exhibitions throughout Britain and in the USA and has participated in several group shows including the Royal Scottish Society (RSA), the Royal Glasgow Institute (RGI), Visual Arts Scotland (VAS), and the Paisley Art Institute (PAI). She gained an award from each of the latter three venues.
 

CARVER, GRAHAM
Graham Carver has an uncanny instinct for finding and painting the scenes of our imagination. His sunbathed work creates deep nostalgia, a longing for hot unworried summers, and the rural idyll. He has an extraordinary ability to capture a sense of peace and safety of a pastoral England as once it must have been. After a Norfolk childhood, Graham studied art and design at Hornsey College, London before going on to study painting at Leeds College of Art. Having settled in Yorkshire he taught art and design for a number of years before becoming a full time professional painter. Graham’s works are in private collections all over the globe and he has had exhibition success in the national watercolour competition sponsored by Singer and Friedlander and the Sunday Times, his work has been well received in leading galleries throughout the North of England as well as the Bank Side and Mall galleries in London and his signed limited edition prints are widely collected.
 

CASAS, VICTOR
Casas was born in a small mountain village above the Spanish port of Alicante in 1952. He began his painting career in his home town as a child and specialises in still life work. Casas has developed, throughout his professional career, a style known as hyper-realism. The quality of his brush work is remarkable with his subject and the application of light and shade within his compositions is outstanding. His work sells widely throughout Europe and the USA and is in many national and international private collections.
 

CISZ, HENDERSON
Born in Brazil in 1960, Henderson grew up in a small village near Maringa. His talent for painting was clear from as early age, but he never considered pursuing a career as an artist. Instead he entered the banking profession and continued to enjoy painting as a hobby. By the mid 1980s however, Henderson had become convinced that art meant more to him than banking! In 1986 he moved to London in order to study painting, and to make his passion his profession. He has never looked back and now paints full time in his London studio.
A seasoned traveller, Henderson has spent time in Europe, Australia and of course his native South America. While he loves the ocean and has always found it a source of inspiration and joy, he is also a true city-dweller, and many of his most inspirational works feature scenes from the world’s most beautiful cities. Painting in acrylic, oil or watercolour on canvas, Henderson’s trademark palette utilises cool, soft tones to convey the atmosphere of his subject. His works are regularly displayed in London galleries and at international art fairs.
“I love the effect that weather has on the urban landscape and must confess to a particular fondness for the rain! Not only does it cast interesting shadows and reflections on the slick sidewalks, but it also dictates the stance of the figures. Their slightly defensive postures and hunched shoulders lend a very specific, and to my mind curiously engaging, mood to the overall scene.”
 

STRATFORD, AMANDA
Amanda Stratford has put together a portfolio of work to date which reflects her love of walking and travelling as well as her sense of humour, leading to unusual, insightful and often quirky images.
Amanda studied Shop and Store Display and Interior/Exhibition Design at Medway College of Design in Rochester. She has worked in both the interior [commercial and domestic] and exhibition design industries for more than 25 years, as well as creating watercolour visuals for architects and developers.
In 1992, a love of sailing inspired Amanda and a friend to set sail from Faversham in Kent in a 37’ boat, making the transatlantic crossing to Grenada in the West Indies. She worked in the charter industry for a year, enabling her to explore the many islands, before settling on the Dutch/French Island of Sint Maarten/St Martin where she built up a successful design business.
The vibrancy and colour of the West Indies stayed with her after her return to England seven years later, when she moved into the world of themed exhibitions, designing colourful, sculptural sets into which storylines were carefully woven. These displays inspired the seed of the idea for her portraits; each one designed to tell a story - to reveal glimpses of the personality as well as the face you know so well.
Amanda gradually began to devote more time to her painting, enjoying the freedom it allowed - so different from the constraints of the design industry. She wanted to find a technique that moved away from the precision of her design work. As a self-taught artist she chose acrylic as a medium and quickly moved from brushes to palette knife.
Painting to a larger format is an important part of the process for Amanda and, with her strong sense of design and colour, she is able to mix vibrant colours directly on the board, laying on heavy texture to build up the image. Her sketching is minimal, with the image and colour developing as the painting emerges.
 

STROUD, DEBRA

Debra Stroud was born in Guildford and has travelled far and wide, having a variety of really diverse jobs. Her first creative attempt, at the age of two and a half, was to peel off the nursery freeze that her mother had applied to the wall minutes earlier.
Debra Stroud has always had a creative mind and as a child she used to send her inventions to various toy manufacturers. One of her designs was for an all enclosed sledge encapsulated in a sort of gyroscopic pod so that you stayed in a stable position as you hurtled down a snowy hill. The company -'Triang'- liked her design and sent her a kind and heartening letter and a doll's cot!
Creativity was very much encouraged at her first school in Guildford. Music, Art and Drama were a daily activity. It was later, at the age of fourteen, that Stroud was inspired by Guildford School Of Art and their photography course. She took armfuls' of information home from the careers fair and enthusiastically told her parents. Her father said 'No way'! so she lost heart and left school.  

Much later she took herself to college to sit her exams and went on to read Psychology at Sussex University. She then left Sussex to study Philosophy in London. She draws most of her inspiration from the coasts around the South West, she has been very much inspired by places further a field such as the Seychelles, California and South Africa.
Debra Stroud likes to paint in peace and to focus, and for that she needs quietness. She works in both watercolour and oil - each is very different and which medium she uses depends on her mood, but it is the sea which draws her back each time.
 

VETTRIANO, JACK

Born in Scotland in 1951, Vettriano left school at sixteen to become a mining engineer in the local coalfields. For his twenty-first birthday a girlfriend gave him a set of watercolour paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint. The local art gallery, The Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery, with its renowned collection of 19th and 20th century Scottish paintings, was particularly inspirational.
It was fourteen years before Vettriano felt ready to show any of his work in public. In 1989 he offered two works to the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual exhibition; both were accepted and sold on the first day. The following year, an equally enthusiastic reaction greeted the three paintings, which he entered for the prestigious Summer Exhibition at London’s Royal Academy.
In the last nine years interest in, and desire for his work, has grown rapidly. There have been sell-out solo exhibitions in Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong and Johannesburg. In November 1999, Vettriano’s work was shown for the first time in New York, when twenty paintings were displayed at The International 20th Century Arts Fair at The Armory. Fifty collectors from the UK flew out for the opening night of the Fair and all twenty paintings were sold out within an hour of the opening.
In March 2000 BBC Scotland produced a half-hour documentary about Vettriano for their Arts Series EX-S; aired initially in Scotland only, the documentary is likely to be aired nationally later this year.
Aside from his exhibitions, Vettriano has acquired a vast following of fans through the posters and prints of his paintings that are distributed worldwide. This year the two best selling art posters in Britain are both Vettriano images. To date, more than 500,000 posters of Vettriano’s paintings have sold worldwide.
Paintings by Jack Vettriano can be found in private, corporate and public collections worldwide.
 

WHITE, TODD
From Hollywood, Todd White is quickly establishing himself as one of the greats on the international art scene. He is collected by a host of A-list Hollywood celebrities and his original works, in high demand, are being snapped-up by the richest and the coolest for incredible prices. 
Described by the media as ‘the Rat Pack meets Picasso’, Todd’s work is high impact and distinctive, inimitable, and instantly recognisable by collectors around the world. Although he has had major international TV and media coverage and achieved celebrity status in his own right, what really matter to him are the expressions of joy on the faces of his collectors. A true phenomenon...
 

WILSON, JOHN
"My first recollection of having an interest in art was at the age of 10 when I entered into a school Easter Card Competition and won first prize. This inspired me to carry on drawing, particularly incorporating my main interest at that time of aircraft and cars. Things changed when I was 12 – for Christmas I was given a set of oil paints and an easel (the easel I still use today 40 years later!). Painting in oil opened up a whole new world of colour and texture, as well as filling the house with the wonderful scent of linseed and turpentine.
I then enrolled in painting classes on a Saturday morning at the ‘Harrogate School of Art’, which I attended for about 2 years. I then took my art interest even further and attended a part time evening course where I was introduced to figure painting and also pop art. My high point at that time was a ‘pop art’ self-portrait, which was displayed as part of an exhibition in the Harrogate Art Gallery.
Due to the need to earn a living, painting unfortunately had to take a back seat for the next few years. I married and had 3 beautiful daughters whilst running my own small business for 25 years. For my own pleasure however, I did manage to continue to paint in my spare time.
It therefore wasn’t until the mid 1990’s that I actually went back to art more seriously and started exhibiting in the local galleries. I now have various galleries in the area requesting my work and I’ve had several successful exhibitions. Painting now takes up most of my time - I go to bed thinking of my latest painting and wake up with ideas for the next.
Finding a subject or idea for a painting can be a daunting task, and can often come from the most unlikely source. I remember once going to a Hockney exhibition, where a striking painting at the opposite end of the gallery caught my eye. I saw this painting as depicting a flight of stairs following up to some marble arches, through which I saw the sun sitting in a bright blue sky. As I got closer to the painting it became clear that it was actually nothing like that at all. It was in fact a wooden table standing on a veranda overlooking the sea. This later inspired me to paint the picture I first thought I’d seen."
 

WOODING, TONY
Tony Wooding was born in North Wales in 1969. He is a self taught artist and started drawing from a very early age. He sold his first original painting soon after leaving school and started receiving more and more commissions. "At first I was painting anything from ships to landscapes and pet portraits. As a teenager I was always looking out for the latest David Shepherd print at my local art shop, I've always loved wildlife and it was back then I decided I wanted to be a wildlife artist."
Tony began selling his work to local galleries then soon after to galleries in Chester, Yorkshire and London. His paintings now hang in collections throughout the country. He has also donated original paintings to various wildlife charities. Though Tony paints mainly wildlife, he still enjoys working on other subjects from time to time. "There are many subjects I've not had the time to work on yet, I've got a few ideas I hope to complete in the next couple of years, I'm always looking for new challenges with my art."
 

WYATT, KATE
Kate Wyatt has become renowned for her wildlife paintings which capture the real essence of some of Britain’s most popular mammals. She works primarily in watercolour, layering marks with acrylic ink and pen to bring a structured chaos to her distinctive and inspired wildlife portraits.

Her sketches, as well as her finished paintings, combine a skilful mix of precision mark-making with a sprightly looseness, drawing influence from the likes of Gerald Scarfe and Arthur Rackham.

Kate has exhibited widely in London, and has work displayed in prestigious galleries in Bristol and across the West Country. Her paintings are held in private collections in the UK as well as the United States, Canada and Australia. Kate has established herself as a gifted wildlife artist and continues to delight with her unique interpretations of nature.