Every finished painting starts life as a series of pages in a sketchbook, this is where issues of composition and glaze planning are addressed.

Lee’s technique has developed from a complex and devoted study of the renaissance masters; in particular Leonardo da Vinci.

He works on primed canvas and creates a single colour tonal grisaille layer, this enables him to evaluate the tonal qualities of the work before applying colour.

Once he is happy with the composition and monochrome layer he applies oil paint in thin layers (glazes), carefully building up to a beautifully rich finish. These glazes give the effect of luminosity and are characteristic of the great renaissance masters.

The technique is very time consuming, each layer can take days to dry, therefore it is not uncommon to find several projects on the go at once in Lee’s studio.

Lee says: ‘working in the chemical industry has instilled in me an understanding of process and time management, this has been vital in in the way I manage my studio work flow.’