Barry has been immersed in art since a very young age, going on to having his first exhibition at the age of fourteen, and his first one man show at the age of seventeen. His childhood wasn't plain sailing, and Barry sought solace in the countryside and woodlands near his home.

The annual family holiday in a converted watermill high up in the Welsh mountains gave Barry a strong fondness to the moss covered woodlands, and rocky waterfalls that feature heavily in his work. When painting trees and imposing mountainous views, Barry is recreating that magical yet awe inspiring comforting feeling that he felt as a child, exploring the hidden landscapes of Wales and near his home town.

Although he can turn his hand to most subjects, and as an art tutor for twenty fiveyears, believes in giving his students a broad skill set of techniques over a wide variation of media, styles, and subject matter; Barry always returns to dramatic paintings of woodlands, water, and mountains for his personal work. As lead artist of the Banbury Artists' Cooperative which he set up in the summer of 2017, and organizer of the annual Banbury ArtFest, Barry firmly believes in making art accessible to all, and for artists to be given a regular platform and space to sell their work so they can succeed. Barry's work is currently on display at his studio at The Artery, in Banbury.

Over the years, Barry's teaching practice has taken a more mindful approach, with students saying how much they find peace and escape in his lessons. While Barry has successfully completed an Art Therapy course with distinction in 2021, and undertook a Mindfulness Teacher Training course, his lessons remain a haven for all to escape busy minds and busy lives, and focus for two hours on themeselves and their creativity. He has also developed a chatty approach to teaching, where through general chatter students are at ease and lose the fear of painting. In fact many are surprised how they have mastered even complicated subjects! Barry's own battles with depression and anxiety in his 20s and 30s, has meant that through years of finding out how to calm his overthinking, he understands how much of an important role creativity plays in helping. he also has a great empathy for any students who may also suffer from anxiety and find it difficult to attend classes.

  • Art Qualifications & Experience
  • PTTLS adult education qualification Level 4 (University of Warwick) 2004
  • NSEAD Professional Association Member (National Society for Education in Art & Design) 2019-Present
  • Art Tutor: The Artery Art Shop 2010-Present
  • Art Tutor: Paperway: 1998-2010
  • Art History lecturer Workers Education Association (WEA) West Mids, South Northants, Oxfordshire 2006-2016
  • Registered tutor with the School of Colour 25 years art education experience.
  • Creator Banbury ArtFest 2016-2019
  • Creator 'Februarty' month long social media prompt for artists.
  • Creator & Lead Artist Church Lane Gallery 2017-2019
  • Art Columnist Four Shires Magazine (2012-2018)
  • Daler-Rowney System 3 acrylic paint demonstrator for UK 2000-2002
  • Art CPD
  • Classroom Communication & Management (2009)
  • Dyslexia Awareness (2009)
  • Risk Assessment (2009)
  • Strategies for Supporting those with Autism & Aspergers in the Mainstream Classroom. (2009)
  • 'Prevent' training (2017)
  • Art Therapy (2021)
  • Mindfulness Teacher Training (2021-2022)
  • Retail Advisory Experience & Acheivements
  • Chairman Banbury Old Town Independent Retail Association (2011-2018)
  • Board Member/Director of Banbury BID from its concept to begininng year (2018)
  • Advisory capacity in Creative Cohesion in bringing a workable space for artists to display and sell their work. Concept, pop up shop, to long standing artist cooperative.
  • Advisory capacity in Creative Cohesion in taking an empty shopping precinct store, and turning it into a pop up shop to highlight the many creative businesses of Banbury, bringing them a new customer base: The Creative Quarter.
  • Creating, advising, and liasing The Old Town Party - a successful town event that brought around 3,000 visitors to Banbury town centre for the event.
  • Creating 'Shoptober', a month long campaign in October to highlight every single independet business of Banbury town centre in A-Z format.
  • Creating a month long social media campaign 'indie banbury' with daily prompts for independent businesses to use.

Due to a long career in both art education and retail, I have found myself advising school art co-ordinators, BID boards, retail groups, and other art teachers. My success as an adaptive art educator and art retailer have been used in the mainstream and local media over recent years, as well as becoming the face of the Summer 2020 Visa television and social media campaign to encourage people to shop locally. In fact, Newman College for teacher training use some of my tutorials, and my Paint Like Monet mini video on YouTube has been used by art teachers across the globe for the last ten years to help people access simple ideas of Impressionism. You can read some of the press articles about me here: