Before leaving school, I sought work for myself. The village gamekeeper (Jack Plaice) arranged for me to be ‘taken under the wing’ of John King on the Snettisham…
Children who didn’t pass the eleven plus went to West Walton Secondary Modern, now Marshland High School. We seemed condemned to lower social status, however a lifelong friend…
We arrived in Norfolk shortly before the Americans became fully involved in the Vietnam conflict. Our mother told us we would be living in ‘a big farmhouse with…
The name Dedman is grouped with the Didmen and the Dodmen (according to John James of Dulwich College). Allegedly, these surnames Dedman, Didman and Dodman – denote a…
Damien Hirst’s art often relies on a gimmick or two; his spin painting for example – a fad introduced by the children’s TV series ‘Blue Peter’, re-presented as…
HMP Cornhill known as the Mallet by all who sailed in her, up until recent times was the oldest working gaol in the land. Built in 1601 by…
BAPA (Bristol Academy of Performing Arts) asked me to present ideas for scenic paintings, for use in a musical production of ‘The Witches of Eastwick’. I made visuals…
When I begin a drawing of the Elgin Marbles I make the process about two things: chaos and order. The chaos bit comes first. I base it on…
Some people say that sex is ‘visceral’. Colour and paint can be visceral too. Colour is raw emotion, it is evidence of the life force. Absence of colour…
Olwyn Bowey advised me to ‘only paint and draw that which you like and are interested in – never paint to the market’. To work in any capacity…