17 years and 9 months (not that I was counting!) with Barclays Bank from the age of 17, at which point I sold my house in the UK to my Mum and Dad (who downsized for Dad's retirement) and I bought a place in Spain, despite speaking no Spanish and never having visited the country before! All to concentrate on my artwork and to give me more time to paint, I worked part-time in Spain as a cook in an English cafe, as a vegetarian serving full English fry-ups to English golfers!
Came back to the UK after about a year and a half living in Spain (still got the place in Spain) and worked in a garden centre for nearly 5 years as the "Hard Goods Area" Manager, before joining Hampshire Police as civilian staff about 2 and a half years ago, currently deploying CSI's all over Hampshire to crime scenes, researching crimes scenes with Officers to see if / what forensic potential there is and phoning unfortunate members of the public who have been burgled, had their car broken into etc...
Whilst still painting in my spare time, I'm still trying to pursue the dream of making a living full-time from my artwork...and still thinking about going to art college, but not sure I could stand all the b*llocks talked about art...
Save me from my desk job and help me fulfill my dream, commission a painting of your pride and joy!
Neil
