"Roberts. Is that a caricature of me? Right. Detention Saturday morning'. I have been using my artistic skills for many years.

At the age of 16, I took a 3-year Technical Graphics course at Birmingham Polytechnic where classical drawing skills were drummed into me. Engineering, Architectural and Botanical illustration. An excellent grounding. I managed to pass exams with flying colours and, through professional connections at the college, I went almost immediately to work in a large drawing office in Munich, Germany. I lived there for 7 years working in a number of studios on technical, architectural and advertising illustration. 

The following 20 years were spent happily working as a freelance illustrator in Bristol, Bath and Vienna, Austria. All the time, honing my drawing and painting skills.

I now live in the south of France with my wife Monica where we live and work from a wonderful house about 30 minutes inland from Beziers in the Languedoc. I'm still working for Advertising agencies in the UK as a storyboard artist and visualiser and also teach Drawing and Watercolour Painting from our studio twice a week. 

We're now also running popular Painting Holidays in France. Based at a nearby guesthouse, we take clients painting en plein air to a different location every morning - a mix of Mediterranean fishing ports, ancient villages, vineyards and mountain views. Lunch is either a chic picnic under the trees or a local restaurant. In the afternoons, we continue painting at the same venue or go to our large, airy studio.It's a lovely way to spend time here in the south of France. Full details at www.painting-in-france.com