Putting you in the picture...
What do you keep by your bedside?
A book, a picture of loved ones, teeth in a glass? For me, my bedside table is dominated by a sketch pad and pencils. It has to be like this because it is just as I am dropping off to sleep that my inspiration arrives like an exploding firework - a flash of a scene that will disappear forever unless I stay awake and sketch it instantly.
Born in Liverpool in 1965, I remember spending much of my childhood with my head buried in a comic usually The Beano. I would often relish being sent to bed early as a punishment for some misdemeanour so I could read the latest escapade of The Bash Street Kids. From an early age I loved to draw and as I grew older, I began to use this passion to unleash my elaborate imagination to create games for me and my neighbourhood friends. Fortunately, my father was a painter and decorator so my earliest canvases were the backs of rolls of wallpaper that were supposedly for his customers.
Living on the edge of the city, I was fascinated by the surrounding countryside and would slowly venture further and further out on my pushbike. I ended up spending most of my teenage years travelling around the country on marathon cycling holidays with friends whenever the chance arose. It always occurred to me that there was so much to see on my bike that you would never notice when travelling by car.
It has been this way since my early childhood in Liverpool when the night-time scenes were of Beano characters like Lord Snooty, Dennis the Menace and Minnie the Minx. With my head full of comics, I loved nothing more than to draw and create games for my friends. Kids from far and wide would come to see my latest creation - and this would eventually lead to an innovation award in later life.
Art was my favourite subject at school and when I left, I spent a number of years as a sign writer which I am sure influenced my later animation and graphic style of painting.
Encouraged by friends and family, I loved to paint nostalgic water colour scenes of Liverpool and the success of these led me to attempt painting for a living in 2007. This was soon rewarded with a publishing contract with leading international art publisher Washington Green, marketing and selling my work to a worldwide audience.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries or comments about my work.
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Derrick Fielding is also the 'Innovation Award Winning Street Guide Designer' of the Merseyside Street Guides, a Bespoke Gift of Memorabilia for all the family. Please visit www.streetguides.co.uk to view the types of guides on offer and Limited Edition Prints of the Merseyside area.
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