Terry Charles

I have drawn and painted as far back as I can remember. I recall as a young child my Father teaching me the basics of perspective.

I attended Epsom Art College way, way back in the ‘60s, initially on Saturday mornings, then as a full- time student, emerging some years later clutching my Dip AD.

From there I headed off into the world of commercial art and advertising, mainly in The Smoke as London was then called. I can’t say I enjoyed it that much and eventually I jumped ship, preferring to do my own thing. And still do, bobbing along the backwaters far from the large vessels of the art world, selling the occasional painting (or a painting occasionally) along the way, including commissions.

I like to paint in several mediums, including watercolours and pastels but in recent years have tended to concentrate more on oils, enjoying the flexibility they offer and the opportunity to rework passages I’m not happy with.

To date, my biggest ‘successes’ have been winning the Royal Mail Christmas Card Competition five times, a claim to fame that Hockney hasn’t achieved!

I enjoy both traditional and abstract art, most notably, and in no particular order, Edward Seago, Picasso, Van Gogh, Frank Webb, Turner, Constable, Monet, Rowland Hilder, Alan Cotton and, yes, David Hockney. An eclectic mix for sure. But that, to me, is what makes art so interesting, exciting and invigorating.

Praise be we are not all the same. Life would be exceedingly dull.