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In the first year of my Degree course at Wolverhampton Polytechnic, I tried a module in stone-carving of which this was one of the carvings I produced. I did do another one but that was left at the college as I didn't really like it very much.

It was meant to be a kind of stylised self-portrait , portraying a head expressing a variety of facial expressions simultaneously, a kind of cubist cartoon in stone. I was very much influenced by the wonderful bulbous Picasso heads done of Marie-Therese Walter and at the time my paintings were developing along the lines of cartoon-like multiple expression heads and faces, explored mainly in formal terms ( conceptualism was yet to be re-invented). Yes it does have two noses.

I did not do any more carving after this as I still had plenty of ideas to express in painting and drawing, concentrating on one area would be more likely to bring about a decent final result for my Degree, I thought.

Sadly in 2001 my tutor at Wolverhampton, John ' Paddy ' Paddison, died. I am very grateful for Paddy's encouragement and kindness in the brief time I worked with him on my stone carvings , at a time also in my personal life when I appreciated the support .