Sharing The Roijoy

  Title: Chef Acrylics on canvas. 12 x 16 inches I decided to do something that was just for fun and here is an abstract portrait based on a Chef I know. So what are you looking at? Starting with the face in the middle of the composition, you'll see that the face is both front on and side profile. The constant refocusing of attention in a busy kitchen. Then we have the knives being juggled referencing the many dishes and serving options offered in a busy serving.  To the right you have the saucepan, hand and hotplate in a morning breakfast service. The pan is rendered more smoothly and the hand is darker. The breakfasts are less demanding to the evening sessions as the menu is a standard one with choices rather than choices of many quite different dishes. The hand being darker is because there is more reliance on natural light which can sometimes cause more shadows in the kitchen area. The dinner menu is included here because it is put together early in the morning ready for execut

Title: A Kiss Is Just A Kiss? Acrylics on Canvas. 30 x 40 inches  While studying at art college, I was introduced to the works of Salvador Dali the surrealist style painter. My preference for surrealist paintings has stayed with me to this day. With nowhere near the talent of the greats, I do indulge myself from time to time with renderings of my own. Although my paintings do have stories behind them, I like to hear other peoples experiences of the imagery as it relates to how and what they are seeing. I've included here a quick video showing my stages in the making of this painting.  

The Ice Cream Man 30 x 40 inches Acrylics on canvas I've begun painting again and this one is inspired by a visit I made to Belize City. I was in a quiet side street on a dirt road that suddenly seemed to burst into life with the appearance of an ice cream seller. There was reggae music wafting out from one of the nearby buildings and the gentleman spontaneously delivered some 'moves' for the people noticing him passing through. Here I wanted to capture one of his moves and also the instant attraction it would bring to him from eager young patrons.     Here is how the painting progressed to the finished piece. 

So we're already over a quarter of the way into 2022and Easter has come and gone. I had some fun doing another photoshoot with Emma at Alternative Adventures in Hopkins, Belize. It worked out this year that Emma had a couple of celebrity motorcycle world travellers staying at her hostel ( Crashpad in Hopkins Belize) she pitched the idea of collaborating with them for her Easter shoot. You can check out these 2 adventure riders by visiting their Instagrams: @advtorally and @biologist_on_a_bike . You can also catch up with Emma's 2-wheeled exploits by following her Instagram  @dualsport_emma . It is worth the visit. You'll also see how she used my pictures of the 3 of them turning in Oscar performances... And the pictures are here too, but you'll see that I have used them slightly differently to  @dualsport_emma I chose to shoot just as the sun was going down to get the dramatic sky and backlight. I got the hard foreground light by using an off-camera, single unmodifie

Mask wearing as a mandate has ended in Belize since April 1st, 2022 and the country is buzzing with tourists.  We also had Royal visitors in the village. Hopkins was a 2 night stop for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince William and his wife Katherine. While in Hopkins they were shown a slice of Garifuna culture with drumming, dancing, and traditional food preparations. The Duke and Duchess even took part in some of the dancing with the Duke in particular showing that he had some moves. February brought us a palindrome and ambigram all at once on the 22nd. I teamed up with @dualsport_emma and @masha.homayounfar to produce this 'Reel' to mark the occasion.