About the Artist

Charles was born in London in 1961 and educated at Ampleforth, a catholic boarding school in North Yorkshire. Here he was taught to draw in the classical tradition by the sculptor John Bunting, himself a student of Leon Underwood. Later he attended art colleges in Exeter, Wolverhampton and Lyon, France, graduating with a 1st class Hons degree in Fine Art (painting) in 1984.

On leaving art college he worked for many years as a street artist in London’s Covent Garden, drawing rapid portraits in pencil. It was here that he re-created the old English craft of cutting silhouette portraits with scissors, for which he is now best known. From Covent Garden he moved into the corporate events and entertainment market, finding an audience quite different from the world of fine art. Over two decades he has appeared at all kinds of venues and cut over 150,000 profiles including many notable figures. These include two portraits of the Queen (the second cut at a party to celebrate her 80th birthday) as well as President Clinton (while visiting the National Portrait Gallery), the Duke of Edinburgh, and a large number of TV personalities, writers, artists and sporting celebrities.

Charles currently lives with his wife and two children in Reading, where he has converted a small eighteenth century barn into use as a studio. For the last 12 years May’s Barn (called after May’s Farm of which it is now the only remnant) has hosted a group of local artists who meet there once a week to practice life drawing. The barn can double as an ad-hoc gallery and is opened to the public on various occasions each year. Charles' life studies have also been shown at the annual 'Insight' exhibition at New Greenham Arts; at an exhibition of life drawings in the Henley Exhibition Centre; and at various group shows in the Jelly Leg’d Chicken Gallery, Reading. He is currently seeking new opportunities to exhibit.