Artist Tom Cotcher

"I trained at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and for the past 43 years have been a professional actor working in theatre, television and films as well as being a recognised voice-over-artiste, majoring in documentary narration," says Tom Cotcher, who played Alan Woods in The Bill from 1992 to 1996. "A few years ago I was invited to paint a picture to be auctioned for charity...ergo I purchased a box of acrylic paints, a couple of brushes and a small canvas, then for the first time since my schooldays I began to paint again and was hooked...within the year I had opened my own gallery called ArtEscape in Brighton's Kemptown Village." Tom works in various styles. His seascapes have a strong Turner influence while his landscapes have more to do with the Dutch school and his highly colourful interiors are painted in what he calls his 'naive Matisse style'. "I always try and make whatever I do in life into a happy adventure and I've been lucky...most of the time! My pictures tell stories...it is up to the audience to decide what they are saying." Tom is very happy to consider commissions.