IVOR SEXTON trained at the Portsmouth College of Art and Design, graduating in Illustration and Fine Art. His experience spans a wide range of magazine and book illustration, fine art and mural painting.

Ivor's illustration work started in 1979 when Record Mirror commissioned a front cover from him. The artwork featured Deborah Harry and was sufficiently well received for him to be re-commissioned by the magazine. Two further front covers followed as well as two double page spreads, one of which was a humourous rendering of Adam Ant as a cut out doll...

Humour has never been in short supply where Ivor's work is concerned. If you're going to paint Mars, the god of War, then why not approach international porn star Dillon Buck to be your model? It pays to be cheeky - Mr Buck loved the portrait so much he had it turned into a limited edition T-shirt as part of his newly launched clothing range.

It's this very humour that attracted Britain's best loved comedy duo, French and Saunders, along with co-writer Ruby Wax to Ivor's work when they were looking for someone to illustrate the accompanying book to their television series "Girls on Top". The project turned into a six month collaboration, highlights of which included having to watch Joan Greenwood dancing round the studio with a pink feather boa. Gratitude poured out from all involved. Jennifer praised Ivor's illustrative talents and thanked him for "doing such a lovely job with her bosoms." Dawn was adamant it had been worth having all the sex to get such great graphics. When the project was completed, Ruby encouragingly asked if Ivor was going to sink back into obscurity once the book was published?

More comedy illustration followed, including a collaboration on a book about snogging with Simon Mayo. Ivor has indeed illustrated serious books, but from his roster of commissions you'd be forgiven for thinking his work is one long comedy sketch. His next jobs involved supplying illustrations for two text books, a guide to plastic surgery and an encyclopaedia of skin diseases. He has been known to display a softer side however. One of his favourite illustrating jobs was a book called "London without Tears", an upbeat tourist guide for children, showing them the capital of the UK but with the gory bits removed.

During the 1980's Ivor's reputation from his Record Mirror days attracted much attention from the trendy shops and small businesses of Carnaby St, London. He designed many a poster or ad for such shops and the chain of events led him to design a limited edition silk screen calendar for Strangeways of Covent Garden. The success of the calendar led to a commission for a front cover from Ms London Midweek magazine. The resulting portrait of Bob Marley was also marketed through the magazine as a high end limited edition print. This remains one of Ivor's most successful ventures to date as several weeks after the initial release of the prints, Bob Marley sadly died, making the prints a highly desirable momento for grieving fans and collectors alike. During this period, Ivor was also working for a variety of other magazines, not least the likes of Woman's Journal, Over 21 and Cosmopolitan.

1989 saw a series of changes in both Ivor's work and personal life. A desire to see his children raised out of London led his family to relocate to the Lake District. As a result, the emphasis of Ivor's work also shifted, seeing him move away from design and illustration to concentrate more on fine art commissions and mural painting. Ivor exhibited annually at Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin in Coniston during this period. He also exhibited his work in Kendal, Barrow and Ulverston. The Brantwood exhibition eventually attracted a following of regular devotees who would sometimes travel great distances each year to view each new collection. As a result, Ivor's paintings now reside in such far flung locations as Washington D.C, Greece, France, Egypt, Germany and, of course, many parts of the U.K.

During this period, Ivor's mural commissions included work in a series of private holiday homes in the Greek Islands, the South of France and also off the Red Sea coast of Egypt. He undertook mural commissions for a private leisure centre in the Barrow area and also instigated collaborative mural projects with children in several primary schools. Latterly, Ivor has exhibited in Portsmouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester. His recent works have taken serial form, often with an allegorical twist. His work is always narrative and involves the viewer, often leaving it to them to decide what emotions are being portrayed.

Human emotion is the key concept within Ivor's paintings. Whether it is with his series of Greek and Roman Gods, his angels or his paintings based on popular fairytales, the settings or story always serve to illuminate some facet of the human heart. In most cases, ancient myths and tales will be portrayed with witty and eminently modern twists. The majority of his recent work owes a heavy debt to his time working with psychiatric patients. Ivor spent several years using art as a therapeutic tool in an acute in-patient environment. The aim was to allow patients to vent their emotions in a safe and constructive way. This sense of emotional expression has become central to the way Ivor portrays his subjects.

Ivor now lives in the Border region of Dumfries and Galloway with his current partner. To enquire about commissioning a painting or an illustrative project, please visit the contact page.

Biography by Chris Butler.