Beginning

From the age of 17 his art was already deeply imbued with the power of Nature. His landscape paintings were like a series of secret gardens intuitively discovered. His paintings expressed a sculptural timelessness and person-like quality to the trees in particular - sculpturally defined like ancient creatures, waiting in the landscape for humans to once again know their language and bring them to life. Yet to him they were friends, and hauntingly sang to him. His teenage poetry expressed this aspect. Weekly (and daily during school & colleges holidays) he would spend upwards of 7 hours a day walking his native hills sketching the landscape and writing poetry. Looking back on those times now he can more readily appreciate the Celtic presentiment of spirit of place and of nymphs and anthropomorphic awareness.

Exhibitions

His first one-man show was in 1972. He exhibited in some group shows between 1976 and 79, but from 1979 he exhibited his art exclusively one-man exhibitions across Great Britain. These were in art galleries, art centres, and theatres. Some of them were sponsored/grant aided by the regional arts associations of the Arts Council of Great Britain. He would sometimes provide student placements for assistants.  Public lectures were also sometimes held.

Themes

The final period at University saw a gradual return of this monumentality combined with a deep fascination for the rhythms and intertwining of order and disorder: the theme of thesis- antithesis-synthesis more and more entered his work and philosophical approach to life.

Specific and recurring themes emerged: order & disorder; the seasons; the cycle of the farming year; landscape and prehistoric sites (especially Avebury). In the final period (1980-1992) he also spent time travelling to and researching particular landscapes (Snowdonia, Dorset, the Somerset coast, Shropshire) and prehistoric sites, and would often camp out nearby to develop a deeper understanding of and respect for them. Of particular interest at this time was the Avebury Cylce of prehistoric monuments (commencing circa 3,500 bce) in Wiltshire, England: West Kennet Long Barrow, The Ave ue, Silbury Hill, The Sanctuary, Windmill Hill, The Ridgeway, and Avebury Henge. And then began writing about them and their religious and ethical and spiritual significance for living today.

A shamanic, or unifying approach to life incorporating all living things as well as the inanimate, became a guiding principle to his life. As the Rev. Michael-Crowther Green (Church of England spokesman for Faith & the Environment) pointed out on opening a Cox one-man exhibition in Oxford in 1992 that his art expresses the idea of the sacred in all things.

Style and Mediums

The landscape also returned to his art in three very unusual and distinctive ways: i) miniature paintings (3 cm x 1.5 cm) set within a larger canvas of seasonal oriented mosaic; ii) small and large sculptures built almost like totemistic temples using the raw materials of the land (tree trunks, stone) and the farming year (feedstuffs, harvest, dung, straw etc); some being room size; iii) and large (3m x2m x 0.5 m) wall hanging 3-d paintings like temple doorways.

He was working mainly in paintings, relief, sculpture, and water-colour landscape miniatures. His work included multi-segment large canvases, mixed media pieces, and large temporary installation art using materials from farms and landscape direct (his art studio was based on a farm deep in the Berkshire countryside).

 

Educating

In 1977 he helped form an artists association arranging group exhibitions of members art and promoting artists rights and negotiating facilities across southern England. He also instituted the visual arts at a major entertainments complex  shortly after it was built and organised many exhibitions for other artists. He also pioneered the concept of persuading professional artists to go into schools to give lectures and workshops. Additionally he ran scholarships and placements for students to gain experience of art skills and exhibitions. And helped others to study for college entrance. In the schools in which he taught he organised art clubs and visits to galleries etc.

 

Retirement

As part of increased reclusivity he stopped all exhibiting in 1993. Then in 2005 he withdrew from all public contact/activities. In 2012 with health issues he moved to Wiltshire and went into semi-seclusion and retirement . But unable to remain still for long the rural ambience inspired  re-emergence of his art in the form of developing a major garden wherein his artistic skills and insights were expressed. He then created a registered charity for the advancement of education in horticulture and conservation.

He still hopes one day to have the time and means to take up some actual art again.