In the early Sixties Mr Frape, the Director at Salford Art Gallery staged a competition-cum exhibition in which Lowry was the judge and in due course I was gratified to be the winner. For a time I exhibited locally, the paintings being largely landscapes and figure studies and I did have some luck. But very soon came the doubtful trend (in my opinion) towards complete abstraction and (worse) the so-called installation-art and action painting. This, I feel is/was merely a case of confusing freedom with licence.
I fed my family by painting, teaching, and also doing a considerable amount of jazz-playing on trumpet, piano, and/or the drums (I was always against subsidy, particularly when it came from the Arts Council.) With my friend and colleague, Tony Charlesworth, I also composed several popular songs on the lines of those that would be associated with Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.
