Ever since I was given my first box of paints at the age of three I've been in love with painting. It was a hobby that went well with my other passion, for collecting absolutely everything to do with nature. Leaves, acorns, nuts, flowers, beetles and even slugs, all of which I sneaked into my bedroom so I could try and reproduce their likenesses on paper. My mother soon vetoed the creepy crawlies but to her credit was fairly tolerant of the reams of paper, wax crayons trodden into the carpet and general mayhem that accompanied my enthusiasm for art. My father was an engineering draughtsman and taught me, with great patience, all about perspective and how to use the many fascinating drawing instruments he had in his office. I was hooked! My career in education largely precluded time for creative endeavours but I'm now delighted to have got back to painting almost every day.
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