Biography

Born 13 May 1942 in Northampton UK.

One brother 2 1/2 years junior.

After the war my family moved to Kent.

My father worked as a land surveyor, for K.E.C., until he retired. He died in 1997.

He originally trained as an architect but that was interrupted by the outbreak of war.

My mother attended Northampton College of Art and then won a painting scholarship to Paris.

I attended Maidstone college of Art, first studying book production, followed by one year in the fine art department.

Then I lived in London several years, first in Shepherds Bush later in Islington. During those years I travelled extensively in Europe and in 1969 spent 3 months in South Africa.

For many years my picture books have been published by Nord-Sud-Verlag in Switzerland and their sister company North-South-Books in New York.  Titles published by NSV include: “Hansel and Gretel“, “Red Riding Hood”, “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Snow Queen” and other stories by both Hans Andersen and Brothers Grimm.

NSV have also published books which I have both illustrated and written : - “Varenca”  Hans Milleman (out of print), “Tattercoats” “The Christmas Bird”  (out of print) and “Harvey Hare”.

In the 1960’s “Ones None”, a collection of poems by James Reeves and won a ‘Premio Graphico’ prize at Bologona Bookfair.

I won ‘The Owl Prize’ (Japan) for illustrations for ‘The Little Gardener’ by Marie-Gerda Schiedl.

In 2001 I made the drawings for 3 animated TV commercials, advertising RJ health and beauty products (made organically) for Japanese television.

In 2005 it will be the Hans Christian Andersens Birthday Bicentennial.  The celebrations for this major literary event are being organised by Medialynx  Japan, including the publication of 13 of Anderson’s best loved tales. I was one of the 13 illustrators and the only one from the UK chosen to particpate and did the drawings for ‘The Wild Swans’ due to be published 2003.