A couple of years ago this week a friend of ours died. His sudden death made us rethink our lives and move to France. We met Colin when we moved from London to Penzance, Cornwall, in the 90's, and my intention was to be a full-time painter, (it took a while, but here I am ....). My first step was attending a life drawing evening class, I was so incredibly lucky that the class was run by Colin, a formidable artist and a gifted teacher. With his support I applied for a Fine Art painting degree course at Falmouth College of Art and was accepted.Throughout the 10 years I knew Colin, he had many exhibitions of his paintings. Lots of people we knew would turn up to the private views, discuss his work and have a drink. Then they'd pitch up again at his house for a New Year's party. He came to our wedding with his wife, Pat and other arty friends. Sometimes vivid images of him come back to me when I'm painting in my studio. Colin in a flowery shirt with his hand-painted belt organizing the life class, moving the model into the most striking light. Or chatting in his studio - swapping a large mirror he'd spotted for one of his paintings, chosen from the biggest stack you've ever seen. Colin, wandering up and down Chapel Street smoking a cigar, going from home to studio and back ....
