My art grows from a life spent making things by hand.

For over fifteen years I worked as a fine cabinetmaker, designing and building furniture for private clients, historic buildings and public institutions. When illness forced me away from full-time cabinetmaking, I found myself returning to drawing, painting, carving and marquetry—not as a profession, but as a way of making sense of the world.

The work is rooted in memory, folklore, humour and place. Scottish coastlines, forgotten objects, black sunflowers, fishermen, hermits, saints, rogues and wandering dreamers all find their way into the stories I tell. Some pieces begin as sketches made on walks; others emerge from old family histories, personal experiences or strange ideas that refuse to leave me alone.

I am not interested in perfection. I am interested in character. Many of my pieces deliberately retain the spirit of a sketchbook drawing or a handmade object. They celebrate the marks of the maker and the beauty of imperfection.

Working across marquetry, carving, illustration and mixed media, I create what I think of as modern folk art—work that sits somewhere between fine craftsmanship, storytelling and tramp art. Each piece is part of a larger world I call Shugism: a growing collection of stories, objects, places and ideas connected by curiosity, resilience and wonder.

This gallery contains original artworks, experiments, finished commissions and fragments from larger projects, including Making It – The Book of Shug, my ongoing memoir and cabinet of curiosities.

Every piece begins with a simple question: what story wants to be told?