Dusty port bottle
Personal Profile
Roy was born in London in 1935. He showed an interest in art at an early age and was drawing at the age of three. He went on to study at the London School of Printing and Graphic Art. His studies included life drawing, photographic
retouching and graphic design. During his time in National Service, he designed a number of station badges for 90 Group H.Q at Medmenham in co-operation with the Royal College of Heraldry
On completion of his short spell in the R.A.F he was introduced
to a small advertising agency and was invited to take up a position in the art department as a general artist. His advertising career progressed through the next decade and came to an end at Masius Wynne Williams, one of the largest advertising agencies in
London, where he was appointed art director. Among his many projects at the agency, he designed the chequered flag box for 'Kleenex for Men' tissues. He also coined the phrase, 'Cleans like a White Tornado' for Ajax scouring powder.
In 1964 Roy decided
to leave the advertising world to resume his studies in fine art, a subject that was always dear to his heart. He had excelled at life drawing but now had an overwhelming desire to paint in the Old Masters style and to learn their techniques. He set up his
easel many times in museums and galleries, copying finished as well as unfinished works. He read all the books he could find on old paint medium recipes, methods and techniques, experimenting all the time until he found the one that suited him.
He is
influenced by artists of the Dutch Golden Age era such as Rembrandt and Hals for portraits together with Willem Kalf, Adriaen Coorte, Pieter Claesz, Willem Claesz,Heda and many more including the great French painter Chardin, for their still life works.
His motivation is to try and bring objects to life by carefully observing light and shade. The cast shadow or reflected light in a glass facinates him and he tries to capture the essence of everyday objects whether antique or modern. He believes any object
even the most mundane, can be grouped to form an attractive composition. Roy uses only natural daylight to achieve his desired effects.
While he loves the atmosphere created in the Old Masters style, he realises that one cannot live in the past
and tries to combine traditional technique with a modern theme and look.
Roy limits his painting output these days to about six a year. He believes observation and rendition to be his primary objective in producing unique and carefully crafted works
for discerning patrons. His work is in many international collections.