When I graduated from art school in 1986, I knew I wanted to paint but had little idea how to make a living from it. Armed with $1,000 in traveller's cheques, a sketchbook and a box of watercolours, I set off for India on what was intended to be a three month adventure. It lasted nine.

That first journey sparked a passion for travel that shaped the next fifteen years. I supported myself through decorative painting commissions for part of each year, spending the rest travelling through countries where life was inexpensive and I could devote my time to painting and exploring.

My sketchbooks became constant companions, recording people, landscapes and everyday scenes, while opening doors to unexpected encounters and friendships. Once, while drawing at Angkor Wat, a temple guard left me holding his Kalashnikov while he borrowed my Walkman for his lunch break!

Sketchy Travels brings together the drawings, paintings and stories from those years. Some originals have been lost, while others survive only in photographs or slides. Together with occasional photographs taken when sketching was impossible, they form a rather haphazard but vivid record of those travelling years.