"In September 2003 I finally arrived in Malta for the start of a new phase of my life. Making the decision to take early retirement from my UK landscape Design business suddenly seemed the right thing to do. Life's clock is always ticking!

I had visited Malta many times with a Maltese friend before this decision to settle here was made and I'd already started to build a nice circle of Maltese friends who still remain an important part of my life today.

So, free days of retirement had to be filled. The first project was restoring the old village house I live in and to create a green space 'jungle style' garden to enjoy. The restoration was hard work, as I did a lot of the basic stuff myself before relying on a builder, tiler, electrician etc to do all the essential professional bits. Chipping off years of crumbling plaster and repointing the old stone walls was time consuming, but also fun as I discovered bricked up and plastered over niches and an old animal manger in what is now my main sitting room. These old houses have lots of secrets and I love the feeling of living with the 350 plus years of history and the many people that have lived in this house before me.

After the house restoration was completed and I could live in a civilised way again, it was a natural thing for me to indulge in my main passion of painting. At last I had the time to let my thoughts run free with the poems I like to write. I have always enjoyed writing as well as painting and have written several short stories, many poems and a novel (as yet unpublished).

I have painted all my life and now there were different landscapes and scenery to enjoy, quite different from the English countryside to which I'd been used to.

I have always appreciated nature and being outside (one of the enjoyable parts of my previous life as a garden designer). So the many walks along the cliff-tops of Malta with the bright light and many shades of blue from the sea was instant inspiration for my paintings and poems. Here are a few selected lines from one of my poems:

 Historic Maltese Islands...

These table top islands of honey-coloured stone

Bleached by the sun and strong winds that have blown

Floating together in an indigo sea

With long-gone civilisations from pre-history

Hot drying winds blow across carobs and pine

As it passes through fields full of olives and vine

Leaving dust on the glass of the small roadside shrine

And a white crystal crust on the hot salt-pan brine

A timeless, restless, peculiar energy

Comes from the sun scorched hills and blue sea

And, away from the crowds when cliff-top walking

The historic voice of the wind does all of the talking

I love to capture 'moods' of the day and the fleeting happenings that nature provides. I am an early riser, so, watching the dawn break with its magical changing sky colours has always captivated me. Or early walks when the conditions are right and you can witness the brief morning mists over the fields and valleys. Buskett has always been a favourite place to visit and reminds me of the English woods where I often used to go and walk, whatever the season. Slanting sunlight through the trees is always guaranteed to provide a dramatic theatrical effect. Plus an added touch of mystery and spiritual magic.

I have tried to capture these moments in my paintings with my particular fondness for detail which is something that always gets commented on.

I also like to capture the artistic value of ordinary things. Peeling paint on a door, fruit on a plate, a fishing boat making waves or a fisherman at dawn as he pulls in the nets are all things I enjoy painting and I guess this is why, 'Solitary Observations' was a good title for my exhibition and the way I see things as an artist.

Shapes and Shadows                                          

Sunshine, colour, all around

Daytime treats that do astound

My beating heart, it quickens pace

To capture all and win the race

To see, to wonder, to feel sublime

With the fleeting moments of my time

The sunrise waters of the sea

The streaks of gold are all for me

A morning gift of light and shimmer

The ripples from an early swimmer.