I was born in Orpington, Kent in 1977 and lived in the village of Eynsford, Dartford for seven years. My family and I moved to Bearsted, Maidstone in 1984, where I still reside.   Having always enjoyed drawing, it was at secondary school my interest in portrait work developed, submitting portraits of Bob Marley and Jimi Page for my coursework, aided in my gaining an A for the GCSE in Art and Design.   Following Secondary School, I studied For a GNVQ in Art and Design at Mid Kent College, Maidstone. The duration of the course was two years, during this time I tried many variations of media and subject work, but my passion always remained with pencil based portrait work. At the end of the course, I gained a pass with distinction.   I have had many requests for commissions; these include portraits of famous faces, family members and pets. My work has been displayed in galleries in and around the Maidstone area of Kent.   The majority of my work is done on A3 cartridge paper (16.5” x 11.5”) using a mechanical hb pencil for detail, and a range of pencils from 2h to 9b for shading. For highlights, I use white acrylic paint, or for larger areas I manipulate the image with a putty rubber. On average, a portrait will take me 15 to 20 hours to complete.