Henley Royal Regatta 2025 – the heat is on!

The 2025 edition of Henley Royal Regatta is about to commence! From 1-6 July, thousands of visitors and spectators will watch over 400 races featuring Olympic rowers as well as crews new to the event. Arguably the best-known regatta in the world, it is a highlight of both the summer sporting calendar and the social season.

I’m honoured to have been invited to exhibit for the second year running at this prestigious event. I delivered three new oil paintings to the Art Gallery in the Stewards Enclosure on Saturday, 28th June, and look forward to attending the finals on Sunday, 6th June!

The End is in Sight, oil on linen canvas
A Proud Moment, oil on linen canvas
Make Every Stroke Count, oil on linen canvas

Attendees to the races can enjoy sweeping views of the Regatta Course, with the stunning backdrop of Henley town and St Mary’s Church tower.

My art will be on display in the Art Gallery in The Stewards Enclosure, situated on the Berkshire side of the River Thames and open to Members of the regatta and their Guests. The enclosure boasts exclusive eateries, lively bars, Prize Tent and a view of the Finish Line.

Meanwhile, non-members can purchase tickets for the Regatta Enclosure, located on the beautiful Henley Reach. The Regatta Enclosure offers a family-friendly environment with a relaxed dress code. There is riverside seating and an open grandstand, as well as a covered restaurant, an outside dining area and a bar offering a range of food and drink.

Visit the website for more details.

Henley Royal Regatta, 1-6 July 2025

I’m delighted to have been invited to exhibit at this year’s Henley Royal Regatta Art Gallery in the Steward’s Enclosure. The best-known regatta in the world, it is a highlight of both the summer sporting calendar and the social season.

The Regatta attracts thousands of visitors over the week, and spectators are thrilled by over 400 races of an international standard, which can include Olympic rowers, as well as crews new to the event.

This is a sneak peak of one of three new oil paintings I am working on.. keep an eye on your inbox over the coming days to see a glimpse of the artworks.

Find out more about the Regatta on the website, and to purchase your tickets (please note that the Stewards Enclosure is only open to members of the regatta).

Concept art masterclasses at IAMC 25 in Paris

Throwback to a fantastic weekend of art masterclasses at IAMAC 25 in Paris… with concept artists and designers, art directors, production designers, matte painters, digital artists, illustrators and graphic novelists/artists. I also had the pleasure of meeting artists I hadn’t known before.

Contributors included:
– Sparth Nicolas Bouvier, art director (games include Prince of Persia, Assassin’s Creed, Halo Infinite)-

Dylan Cole, co-production designer – Avatar: The Way of Water (senior matte painter – Return of the King; concept artist on Transformers 3, Tron Legacy, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Superman Returns, Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift; matte painter eg Memoirs of a Geisha; i, Robot; Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)-

Craig Mullins, digital artist (films include: The Matrix, Final Fantasy, Apollo 13; gaming: Halo, Age of Empires III, Assassin’s Creed)-

Alex Alice, graphic novel writer and artist (Siegfried, Castle of the Stars)- worlds that reminded me of the golden age of travel, hopeful and light designs.

Didier Graffet, illustrator (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, The Mysterious Island)-

Raphael Lacoste, art director (gaming: Prince of Persia, Assassin’s Creed; matte painter and senior concept artist on films including Terminator Salvation, Jupiter Ascending, Immortals 2011)-

Ehsan Bigloo, senior concept designer – creature design, film and TV (Men in Black: International, Love and Monsters, Dark Phoenix, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power).

TEFAF Maastricht – March 2025

Not long after my trip to Paris to attend IAMC 25, I travelled to the Netherlands for a very different art affair – TEFAF Maastricht.

This prestigious art fair gathers some of the best of art connoisseurs, collectors and curators in old master paintings and drawings, antiques, ancient art and manuscripts., alongside exquisite jewellery from Cartier.

My favourite booth was undoubtedly Steinitz, Paris, an extravagant baroque/roccocco setting which reminded me a little of Phantom of the Opera, and of course felt familiar after having just spent a long weekend in Paris.

I was also excited to finally see the antique arms on armour on display from London gallery Peter Finer, showcasing some fine German armour as well as a few Samurai pieces.

Sam Fogg was also there with its medieval sculptures, and pieces from St Paul’s Cathedral..

Galerie Ary Jan was also at TEFAF displaying paintings from the belle epoque.

Meanwhile, White Cube made its modern art impact.

The entrance for TEFAF was itself an impressive immersive artwork, welcoming visitors with garlands of fresh flowers cascading from the walls. unsurprisingly it was a feature for people to photograph themselves.

I look forward to attending again in future.

Sketching in Aachen, Germany

Just an hour’s journey from Maastricht was the beautiful historic city of Aachen. As the birthplace of Holy Roman Emperor and ‘founding father of Europe, Charlemagne, there was a lot of history to discover. The Dom, pictured, is where Charlemagne was buried and where kings and queens were crowned for 600 years.

Spring was beginning to bloom in the city and the square outside the Dom was attracting crowds enjoying the atmosphere, sunshine and ice cream.

I made a vow to do some sketching during my travels, so I brought my sketchbook and pen with me to quickly capture some impressions of the Dom and Ratskeller.

‘Eun Ju’

This was one of my oil painting studies in 2005, part of my art project which explored cultural identity and the intellectual legacy of indigenous cultures, as well as ‘non-western’ cultural traditions.

Painted on A3 cartridge paper (in very small brushes!), it depicts ‘Eun Ju’, after artist Andrew Tift’s ‘Alexander and Eun Ju.’

The original portrait took on new significance for me as it was Tift’s subjective take on Jan Van Eyck’s Arnolfini marriage, painted in 1422-4. Filled with symbolism, it shows both the unifying, protection and preservation of cultures, something of interest to me with my own cultural background.

Eun Ju wears a hanbok, perhaps to sustain Korean tradition. Along with language, religion and cultural patterns such as dance, food, housing and aesthetics, apparel plays a vital role in the preservation and expression of cultural identity.

My school entered my art project, titled ‘Vanishing Cultures’ into the Surrey Art Award, and I’m delighted to say it won first place.

I had begun selling my paintings to my teachers a few years before this, but around this time I began portrait commissions that continued to this day.

Native American Heritage Month

Native American Heritage Month is celebrated each year in November. These are work in progress oil paintings of a Mayan king and warrior, inspired by Mel Gibson’s film Apocalypto.

The Guardian Building, Detroit

Housing the Bank of America offices, The Guardian Building is a beautiful1920s Aztec inspired Art Deco skyscraper in Detroit, Michigan. The Guardian was designated a National Historic Landmark in June 1989.

The Fisher Building, Detroit

Located a few minutes’ drive from The Guardian Building, The Fisher Building boasts magnificent marble exterior, hand-painted, barrel-vaulted ceiling, mosaics, and bronze detailing and a Mayan-themed original interior inside the Fisher Theatre. Designed by architect Albert Kahn in the 1920s, this Art Deco skyscraper has been recognised as “Detroit’s Largest Art Object” and is a tribute to the American work ethic and to American artisans.

Indian Heritage Center, Michigan

In October last year, I was able to visit the Indian Heritage Center in Michigan, which showcased murals and handcrafted jewellery by local Native American artisans.

Giant Redwood Tree with bluebells at dawn – sold at the Art & Mind Dinner and Art Auction, Kensington Palace 2019

‘Giant Redwood Tree with bluebells at dawn,’ oil on canvas, 20 inches x 30 inches. Sold at The Art & Mind Dinner and Art Auction, Kensington Palace, October 2019

I was inspired to create this imagined scene of bluebells, ancient woodland, and a Giant Redwood tree in the early morning for the Art & Mind Dinner and Art Auction at Kensington Palace, held in memory of artist Darren Baker’s sister and in support of good mental health.

The sale of my painting contributed to the fantastic amount raised on the night for The Leanne Baker Trust and Movember, helping the charities to continue to nurture men and women’s mental health, and to prevent suicide.

My oil painting was auctioned alongside original artwork by Banksy, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, HRH Prince of Wales, Nelson Mandela and David Hockney amongst others, including my fellow Art London Dubai artists.

Amidst the ever-changing pace of modern life, it is more important than ever to communicate and to find a deeper sense of meaning, peace and tranquility.

I believe that peaceful scenes of nature can greatly benefit the viewer’s wellbeing and good mental health. Spending time in nature and God’s creation can positively impact mental health and wellbeing, such as contemplating the beauty and symbolism of a redwood tree quietly growing, surviving and flourishing for over two thousand years.

This original piece shows a peaceful scene of ancient bluebell woods at early morning, with a giant redwood tree in the foreground to represent being deeply rooted and connected to nature. A beautiful woodland has been largely left to grow wild in an area in our garden and these delightful wildflowers have proliferated, creating an enchanting carpet of blue, white, and purple each year.

I wanted to incorporate the symbolic use of light and meaningful landscape painting that was similarly harnessed by the Hudson River School artists, whose vision was inspired by contemporary German and British Romanticism, the sense of the sublime, and God’s glory, which I believe is everpresent in our surroundings and every sunrise and sunset.

I hope the new owners are deriving much pleasure from my painting

Digital Design weekend at the V&A

I attended the V&A’s Digital Design weekend recently, experiencing the intersection between art, design and technology.

A few highlights included using Humanhood’s augmented reality to dance in the multiverse as well as meeting Jacqui Ramrayka, the V&A’s ceramics artist in residence, who is focusing on the significance of objects and memory to the Indo-Carribbean diaspora.