I have always painted; it's just what I do. At home I have a picture of a ship with aeroplanes flying above it that I can remember painting aged about five. I got annoyed because the mast was too thick and green. Later on I went to the Slade School at a time when they still had life classes and taught drawing and painting from life models.

Working directly from my subject is the heart of everything I do, I get a sensation in the back of my head that says PAINT THIS; so that is what happens. I need to experience colour and light and the way the wind blows. Somehow studio work never quite catches up, unless the experience is particularly intense, as happened with the Toledo picture.

I have lived in Rutland for many years now; I love the openness of our lanes with their wide verges, and the fact that it doesn't rain much around here!

My paintings have been selected for the annual Sunday Times Watercolour show at the Mall Gallery. I have had two one man shows in the west end of London and over the years I have been involved in a number of other gallery exhibitions around the country.