I always wanted to paint but worried that I would end up in a lowly garret living on baked beans. So I trained as a designer (living on baked beans) and went on to work as an art director in London. At that time I kept up with the world of painting, visiting the RA summer show and all the big exhibitions staged in London.

I was particularly inspired by the lovely subdued colours and light effects of contemporary Impressionism, which have greatly influenced my paintings over the years.

I use colour to express the light and atmosphere of a time and place. The sand can be blue, grey, or purple depending on the mood that I'm trying to convey in the painting.

For me the memory is a far more liberating way to depict a scene than trying to paint it there and then, which tends to make me want to copy the colours I see and paint every grain of sand, leading to a dull painting.

So I capture the moment with a pastel sketch, pencil and sometimes photos. I also spend a long time just observing the view, how the light plays with the shapes I see, and how the atmosphere affects me. I particularly like mid-morning or afternoon sunshine as the light is more intense then. Later I work with my memory and references to produce a painting that I think is far more exciting and creative than one that I would have produced on the spot.

Most weeks I attend a life session. It's just a morning so there's only about two hours to produce a reasonable painting. It's a great way of sharpening up knowledge of the human form and of course it's a delight to work with fellow artists after the isolation of my studio.