I'm just a Yorkshireman who's mad about colour.

 

But I’m based in Cambridge these days, without a dale in sight. ​​

 

At my rather academic grammar school I had to drop art before O-level but secretly enrolled at night school and got it anyway. I went on to attend the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama at 18 and became, and still am, an actor... you might remember me from The Full Monty www.paulbutterworthactor.com

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In my second year at drama school I ran into my neighbour from Yorkshire who was studying for an MA at the Slade. We sat down on a mossy wall near Camden Market and talked about colour for three hours. This was the first time I had ever met anybody who I could see what I could see and it was pure joy.

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As a young actor I painted local landscapes and sold them in the pub to earn extra money. I read art books, visited art shows, and dabbled until eventually, in my 50s, I started drawing and life drawing classes. After 8 years of building basic skills I felt confident enough to begin a degree.

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I studied for another 8 years with the Open College of the Arts (the outreach arm of the University for the Creative Arts which now comes under the aegis of the Open University) and in July 2024 I was thrilled to graduate from the UCA with a BA Hons Painting 2:1.