I started out illustrating food, having always wanted to explore it in another dimension, other than eating it!

Illustrating food as a raw ingredient instead of cooked seemed the most inspiring way to approach it.

For example, a mackerel sadly loses its almost fantastical myriad of sharp colours within an hour of being caught, and by the time it's been cooked, it's of no surprise that you have to "add colour" with a garnish at the very least, since it bares very little resemblance to it's former glorious self.

Yet I knew, working in the publishing world, that if recipes had images of these raw and often stunning ingredients it would inspire far more people to cook them, instead of seeing a somewhat intimidating high-gloss portrait of the "finished article"!  I ended up illustrating many books, gift cards, and limited edition prints with this in mind, thoroughly enjoying the process.

At the time we were living in a flat with no garden, but then moved with our tribe of children to a house with enough land to do a "Tom and Barbara" as some of our friends have noted with amusement.

We now produce most of our own fruit and veg (and even get our meat by the animal from a friendly ex-copper). This has allowed me to really illustrate from life.  I plant the seed, watch it grow, pick the fruit, then paint it, with all its vivid colour and voluptuous freshness intact.

I want people to fall in love with food at the very beginning, before it's sitting on the chopping board; appreciate its' sensuous, dazzling colour and form to the point where not only do they want to cook with it, but maybe even feel inspired enough grow it themselves.

I hope my work portrays this.