1964 - 2008

'It is often the brightest star that burns for the shortest time'. Rest in Peace GOV.

I wake up around 7.30am and listen to the news on TV, which soon changes to Pokemon when my daughter, Eden, enters the room. My wife Sarah is already up and offers me a cup of coffee and a kiss before she leaves for work. Eden and I get up around 8am, and between now and the school run I try to organise my thoughts for today's work.

I'm in the studio at 9.30am, where I put on a CD. I can't paint without my music; it channels my thoughts into the work I'm doing. I need something loud and menacing today - 'New Model Army' does the trick! I'm working on a huge family of red cats. It's a painting I planned months ago and even though the cats are defined, it's still a very abstract painting. The cats all have evil eyes. They represent evil people, hordes of them. I call this painting 'Legion'.

At 3.25pm I stop work to pick up Eden from school. After fixing her a bite to eat I finish off painting for the day, followed by a few chores around the house. When Sarah returns from work we both relax for a while with a large gin and tonic. Working the way I do can be an isolating experience and requires self-discipline. I can go for days without speaking to anyone other than my wife and daughter, which doesn't really bother me. I actually enjoy it. I especially enjoy the reaction when Sarah returns from work and sees a finished painting, where earlier that day all she saw was a blank canvas. My wife and daughter are the first point of contact for my paintings. They are truly my greatest inspiration, and also my very honest critics.

Around 11pm I go into my studio, put on some music and look at the paintings still drying on the walls. This is my thinking time. It's good to see them with 'fresh eyes' and in a different light. Sometimes I just look at them for