Leonard Thompson

After 32 years in the teaching profession I took early retirement from my position as head teacher of Bunny CE Primary School near Nottingham in July 1997. I have always been interested in art and craft, and enjoyed teaching primary art, but the demands of running a small primary school left me little time to produce my own paintings.

When I first started painting on silk and I saw how the colour flowed into the fabric, the exciting possibilities of the medium inspired me. I tried out various styles and subjects finding that colourful flowers and birds best suited my approach to silk painting. Later I purchased a wax pot and added batik techniques to my some of my paintings.

Whether I use soluble clear gutta or wax as the resist I always strive to hide the outlines in the finished picture. This means that the sequence of drawing and painting is carefully planned - an approach that suits my personality.

My designs are mostly figurative, I like to explore themes and try to give my audience something to ponder.

Although most of my painting is detailed and controlled, I like to experiment. I make a mental note of how I produce the various effects so that I can use them later in my paintings. Recently I have discovered several exciting new ways of using stencils with iron-fixed paints on silk and I am continuously trying out new ideas. I use many of my experimental pieces to cover handmade notebooks and the lids of gift boxes. The images of many of my pictures are also available as greetings cards.