General update

Building on my success with New York’s International Photography Awards (IPA) — I’ve received 15 IPA awards in the past 13 years — I’m very pleased that my photo series taken in the Lys valley of Val D’Aosta, NW Italy, has won both Special Selection and an honourable mention in IPA’s Architecture section this year.

Chemp, Val D’Aosta, Italy: A charming stone house with wooden accents overlooks a lush green landscape and snow-capped mountains. Blossoming trees add to the serene atmosphere.

In addition, I was again long-listed by the Visual Artists Association for my series of Celtic-inspired illuminated drawings. I have now developed a method for producing prints for backlit display which is particularly effective with pictures that resemble stained glass.

Inspired by the illuminated title page for the Gospel of St. Mark in The Book of Kells (held at Trinity College, Dublin).

March 2025

 

So last year, none of my work made it past the short-listed stage in various competitions I entered. But I can’t really complain, having been in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition two years in a row just prior to last year.

I’ve finally revamped this website, added new stuff and made it easier to navigate.

Work-wise, while continuing as usual, I’ve also decided to concentrate on my own creative interpretations of ancient Celtic or Pictish (Scottish) art, translating imagery produced in the post-Roman period (so-called Dark Ages) in stone, metal-work or illuminated manuscript into original digital images (“variations”) suitable for digital printing.

I’ve been successfully experimenting with printing on transparency material for back-lit display using LED light-pads. The results are similar to stained glass.