Roger was inspired to start painting whilst still at school by his Biology teacher who was then one of the best bird and wildlife painters in the country, regularly painting bird scenes for the RSPB. Seeing him create such beautiful, detailed and accurate illustrations of birds made Roger want to emulate him and he set about practising the techniques needed to accomplish such work.

Although on leaving school he pursued a career outside of art, Roger did keep painting as a hobby and staged his own successful one man exhibition at Ellesmere Port in the late 1970s selling virtually every painting on show. He also exhibited at various exhibitions in Cheshire. His paintings were almost exclusively of birds, painted in fine detail using gouache which is a water based opaque paint much favoured by illustrators.

Roger continued to paint as a hobby for the next thirty years whilst pursuing his own career and more importantly raising two lovely daughters with his wife Helen.  Most of his paintings were sold to friends and work colleagues, often as commission pieces.

In 2009 Roger made a conscious decision to change his subject and medium.  He began painting in oils on canvas, something completely new to him.  He loved it so much he decided to concentrate almost exclusively on this medium.   Virtually all of his paintings are now in oil and the subjects are mainly still lifes and landscapes.  There is however one recurring theme throughout his work and that is attention to detail.  Roger sees beauty in small things, even on everyday objects, which are so often overlooked.  A reflection bouncing off a wine glass or the surface markings on a piece of fruit can be amazing when viewed in detail.  He wants the viewer to stop and examine his paintings and discover beautiful details never before appreciated.  His aim is to reveal to the viewer how beauty can be found in mundane everyday objects if only looked for and ‘seen’.  Beauty is all around us if only we take the time to stop and look.  Although Roger likes his paintings to be realistic they are not photographic.  On closer examination it can be seen how the paint has been manipulated on the canvas to achieve the desired effect.

Roger respects the old techniques used by artists over the centuries, especially the Dutch methods and although painting along similar lines he does not slavishly follow them.  He makes full use of contemporary materials combined with compositions more modern in appearance.

Many people share Roger’s vision of art and he has had great success in recent years selling paintings all over the UK and USA.  He has also won numerous awards at various shows and exhibitions.

Roger now paints full time from his studio in Flintshire, North Wales.

Member: 

North Wales Society of Fine Art

Wirral Society of Art