Deep in thought.

Every evening class for painting seems to raise the idea of painting shoes.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite hidden pen-nib device.

Mandelbrot designs. I couldn't say I designed them, so much as "discovered" them.

A Psychologist illustration: I think the idea was "Where am I?" about some famous researcher struggling to find direction in his work.

Psychology in Africa

Not sure what inspired the idea for this, but stylistically it is a nod to Barry Windsor Smith. His work is truly fantastic (in both senses), especially the "middle years". Search out for his two books called "Opus", or some Conan stories. The Y-motif in this picture is a shorthand for "Psy" which psychologists sometimes use.

Commissioned by The Psychologist in 1992

This was some Psychologist theme about explosive or surprising personality traits.

This watercolour is an unabashed copy of a great painting by Richard Bolton from an inspiring book Painting Weathered Textures in Watercolor. My recent art efforts have been greatly helped by Owen Williams, illustrator and art teacher. I'd not touched paints for several years, and Owen rekindled my interest and helped me avoid some gaffes.

Racism. No entry.

Commission for Mannings Restaurant, Truro, Cornwall

Commissioned by Envoi. The owl started as my photo from a Devon theme park, but souped up with the ever-excellent Xara drawing package. The pen-nibs are an essential motif for the magazine, and the more obscure the better.

Anthony and Cleopatra, just a hobby painting, not a commission. Cleopatra has tempted Antony away from his military duties and achievements, and lost the respect of his comrades.

Cover commissioned for the Psychologist. One of those challenges where you had to make an abstract idea concrete. It was drawn on an Acorn and then unusually I got professional acetates printed for the colour separations.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite hidden pen-nib device.

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine. The Y sign is the Greek symbol "Psi".

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite hidden pen-nib device. The texture started with a photo of something but treated with a stained-glass filter, in PaintShop Pro.

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine. The very first cover in their "rebirth" phaase - previously, no art or style was tolerated. I was given this commission under the kind auspices of editor and friend >Dr Elizabeth Mapstone.

Office workers. I was trying to break away from the laborious, pointillist style which I'd adopted for too long.

A peacock with hidden pen-nibs, as per the custom for the magazine.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite hidden pen-nib device. Another marching army of pen-nibs.

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine. This DNA took ages to craft, using a ray tracing package. Then I had to write some custom software to split 2-colour separations for print purposes.

A close-up from the classic "Adam" painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Somehow reminiscent of a Monty Python/Terry Gilliam animation too.

Inspired by a still from a Mexican film called "El Violin". This was my first foray into use of gouache paint, which I enjoyed.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite hidden pen-nib device. I started with bluebell photos from Knightshayes wood, Devon, but redrawn and simplified.

A "Spraydiation" picture, generated by using my bespoke software, building radial waves in a range of colours, shapes and other parameters. See Artspiration for a range of such colourful abstract art and decoration.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite hidden pen-nib device. The editor wanted a "marching army" of nibs through the countryside.

Not for a real play, just a little exercise in water-colour. This view of the arched back of Ariel flying was inspired by an (infinitely superior) illustration by Barry Windsor Smith, called "Devil's Lake".

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine. Psychologists will recognise the elements of the classic Shepard and Metzler experiment on mental imagery and rotation. I was very disappointed with the print quality compared to my original. But two shades doesn't get you far with a 3D design.

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine. It was supposed to symbolise the maze in your head through which the psychotherapist would have to navigate. I sneaked in a practical joke too, by ensuring that the maze had no solution through to the centre. That'll cause a good bit of frustration.

Aha. My first pseudo-commercial foray, way back in 1982. My college (St Edmund Hall) had a competition for a ball poster. This one took a lot of work but I won which was very satisfying. My prize was two ball tickets: being a workaholic (with no girlfriend!) I was in Cinderella mode: I promptly sold the tickets for £55 which was reward enough for me.

Psychologist front cover from 1990. Sharp-eyed viewers will see this is composed almost entirely of digits, to make the "research" implication.

Commission by Cornwall County Council. The booklet was aimed at the the huge influx of drivers in summer. I aimed to cram as many "classic" traffic hazards into one picture as I could.

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine.

Mandelbrot designs. I couldn't say I designed them, so much as "discovered" them.

Commission for Mannings Restaurant, Truro, Cornwall

The scene from a classic experiment by Bowlby in the 1950s (I think). Demonstrating that infant monkeys still preferred comfort even if the other simulated monkey was the provider of milk.

Commission for Mannings Restaurant, Truro, Cornwall

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite pen-nib device.

Psychologist - multi-cultural issue. Owes a lot to reference from the National Geographic magazine.

A ray-tracing tribute to the "meiko", our parallel processor array of i860 chips - with shadows of the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. This was a cover for the magazine "Surface Noise" which never came to be.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite hidden pen-nib device.

Commission for Mannings Restaurant, Truro, Cornwall

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine.

Commission for Mannings Restaurant, Truro, Cornwall

A ray-tracing effort at a maintenance space ship. Aka "Acorn-user: the spin-off series".

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine. The Y sign is a Psychology icon. The shape was built with a 3D visualisation package which was more accustomed to showing simulated rock-structures.

Black and white people helping each other. Yes now I know it's a cliche, but I didn't when I drew it.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite pen-nib device. In the early days I could not incorporate mid-tones and parts of photographs.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite hidden pen-nib device. Special "Zebra Poetry" edition. (Kidding).

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine.

A "Dandelion" picture, generated by using my bespoke software, building clouds of triangles in a range of colours, orientations and other parameters. See Artspiration for a range of such colourful abstract art and decoration.

Pencil sketch, helping with homework

I drafted this shape on my home Acorn computer, before a full-quality rendition on our Meiko parallel processor at work.

Cover commissioned by Envoi, with the requisite pen-nib devices. These were Spring, Summer and Autumn for the three issues per year.

This was the cover commissioned for a restaurant menu in Truro, Cornwall, UK. They were going for a Californian, sunny outdoor theme. The designer had a style in mind which was way different from my usual, but I was pleased at being able to adopt it relatively easily and enjoyed trying out something new and less fussy

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine. Built by my hand-crafted Postscript.

Cover commissioned by the Psychologist magazine. I used some 3D software (antique by today's standards) with a bit of trial and error for placement of the symbols.

A ray-tracing 3D visualisation of Stars-n-stripes.