Bob’s passion for art came down from his mother, but especially from his Aunt Alice who was principal at Newton Park College, now Bath Spa University. As a child, on one visit around the college Art department at Sion Hill, then run by ceramicist Dan Jelly, the sight of coiled pots being made by the students sowed the seeds for Bob’s love of clay.

Bob studied at Stourbridge and Manchester Colleges of Art where the basics were taught with a grounding in life drawing, sculpture and lithography. Upon graduating with qualifications in painting and ceramics, Bob began a nineteen year teaching career before leaving the profession to set up his first workshop in 1984 in Cheshire.

His first solo exhibition of ceramic sculpture was held at the Pitcairn Gallery, Knutsford and was critiqued by Merete Bates, then the arts editor for the Northern section of the Guardian. This was soon followed by a commission for a Cheshire Cat sculpture at the Village Farm Daresbury, the birthplace of Lewis Carroll. Later Bob established a workshop at Arley Hall, Northwich and designed and manufactured a range of bone china figurines of ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ This was followed by an exhibition of illustrated drawings telling the story at Christ Church Oxford.

Lured by the river and its suitability for his ‘little’ classic wooden boat, Bob relocated to Dartmouth, Devon in 1998 and it was there that he met painter Tony Green, an abstract expressionist and friend of Sir Terry Frost. Green was also a great beacon for the arts, founder of C Visual Arts in Torquay and a mentor to many other artists, and through his experience and encouragement Bob started to paint again alongside his sculpture.

Whilst at Dartmouth, Bob became a member of the Southwest Sculptors Association and exhibited with C Visual Arts. He also gained curatorial experience in organising exhibitions down the river at Greenway and Art trails with the Coastal Path team. This led to working with English Heritage through a solo exhibition at Dartmouth Castle, as well as galleries in the town.

Much to the amazement of neighbours, Bob craned in a purpose built truck kiln into his studio. Its design allowed him to build tall sculpture in situ on the truck without lifting. One such sculpture was called “Four to One”. It reflected on the ratio of wounded to dead returning from Afghanistan: for every service man killed four were wounded and it took the form of a limbless figure with his head wrapped in bandages and bullet holes in his chest. The sculpture led to several exhibitions, and funds raised were given to the rehabilitation of servicemen at Headley Court. It was exhibited locally and further afield at Wells and Truro Cathedrals, at St Marys Magdelene, Taunton and at Buckfast Abbey. It was at this last venue with its Abbey grounds, level lawns and pathways that prompted Bob to ask Father James if he could organise sculpture exhibitions there. He said, “Yes” and DCA Dartmouth Contemporary Arts was formed and with the help of fellow sculptor and friend Phil Dixon. Exhibitions were staged for the next three years in the grounds of the Abbey.

After travelling regularly to Cornwall to exhibit with the St Ives Society of Artists, Bob decided to relocate in 2017 to the Cornish village of Breage where he now works from his studio/gallery in clay and casts in bronze. Cornwall’s unrivalled coastal landscape and its rich vein of natural materials, provides never ending source material and he now exhibits at the Penwith Gallery and at the St Ives Society of Artists. His work is shown widely in exhibitions and galleries in the U.K. and abroad.