commissions
2009
Portrait Commission, 'Tony and Claire Parsons'
This oil painting measures 65cm x 65 cm. Claire originally commissioned a portrait of Tony but, on reflection it seemed to me that she plays such a significant role in his life.
Portrait Commission, 'The Kozak Family'
I had started a Family Tree of the eyes of members of my own blood line on a beautiful piece of driftwood that I had found and, when Richard Kozak saw it propped up in the Studio he commissioned me.
2007
Portrait Commission, ‘Postcard from Cyprus’
This was a commission that I was reluctant to undertake, primarily because it was commissioned by the sitter’s wife (whom I had never met) as a Christmas present, but I can’t resist a challenge.
Pitharia
One thing leads to another – painting the dome and working with Doug on the garden eventually led to painting two pitharia, the large earthenware storage pots traditionally used in Cyprus.
2006
Portrait Commission, ‘Realities’
When I was first commissioned to paint the portrait ‘Realties’ I envisaged a simple head – until a conversation with the person who was commissioning it mentioned the motorbike and we headed off to get suitable photographs with him on his trusty steed.
2005
Seaside Garden
In 2005 I was asked to landscape the garden of a new build house on the coast – literally next to the sea. The garden was completely bare. At the time, I did not own a car, so I was walking everywhere – and mostly along the coast from Kato Paphos to Chloraka.
Dome Mural
The dome has a diameter of 2.85m, a circumference of 10m and is 1.4m deep. To reach it I worked on my knees on a shaky scaffolding that stood 2.5m off the ground. It is in a master bedroom that is only about 3.5m square so, in working out the painting I needed to consider two things: firstly, I had to make sure that, however I did the painting, it must not bear down on you in the smallish space, and it had to be an image that would be both interesting and peaceful to look at when you are lying in bed under it - hence a palm tree.
