Exhibitions

3rd Year Graduation (UEL) . . . . . . . . . . . 2K (Graphic Fine Art) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .June 2000

Romford Central Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug - Sep 2002

Upminster Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 2003

Romford Central Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 2003

Russell Sheridan Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drawn In (Paintings In Hospitals) . . August 2003

Chelmsford Central Library . . . . . . . . . . Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dec - Jan 2004

Hornchurch Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb - Mar 2004

Liverpool Academy of Arts . . . . . . . . . . Come Together '05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug - Sep 2005

Liverpool Academy of Arts . . . . . . . . . . Instrumental Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2006

Liverpool Academy of Arts . . . . . . . . . . Come Together '06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aug - Sep 2006

Thoresby Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SAA 10th Open Exhibition . . . . . . . . Sep- Oct 2006

Liverpool Academy of Arts . . . . . . . . . . Christmas Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . December 2006

Liverpool Academy of Arts . . . . . . . . . . Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mar - Apr 2007

Thoresby Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SAA 11th Open Exhibition . . . . . . . . . Sep- Oct 2007

Diamond Club, Sutton-in-Ashfield . . The Beatles Portraits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Summer 2008

King St Gallery, Alfreton . . . . . . . . . . . . . Artwork Showcased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Summer 2008

Cambridge Art Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Distance Between Land & Sea . . . . . . . . June 2009

Malvern Theatres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Distance Between Land & Sea . . . Jun - Aug 2009

Alfreton Library .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 2009

Callows Yard Gallery, Isle of Man . . . . .Distance Between Land & Sea . . . Sep - Oct 2010

Edinburgh Art Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distance Between Land & Sea . . .November 2010

Alfreton Library .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Artwork Showcased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 2010

Alfreton Library .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Artwork Showcased . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 2010

Malvern Theatres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distance Between Land & Sea . . . . . Jun - Aug 2011

Sutton Central Library, Notts . . . . . . . .Past & Present (as curator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 2013

Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield . . . . . . . . . . Paintings Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2025

GFA was my 3rd year graduation exhibition held at the University of East London in 2000. The artwork consisted of an installation in the form of a dining table consisting of genetically modified food and wine, to convey the high levels of potentially dangerous additives pumped into our food chain, and antibiotics in our livestock.

The theme developed into my series of work entitled Food for Thought which focused more on animal welfare within the agricultural industry.

I wanted to generate publicity prior to my Food for Thought exhibitions and so made a visit to my local newspaper office where the The Dagenham Post agreed to publish an article.

I was interviewed by their editor Julie Russell who published a review covering my graduation and examples of artwork including the Cow in Hand painting that would be exhibiting at my forthcoming exhibitions.

The Food for Thought exhibitions commenced at Romford Central Library in August 2002 and finished at Hornchurch Library in March 2004.

The exhibitions were predominantly educational rather than commercial, aimed at raising concerns involving the ill treatment of animals within our farming industry including cows, pigs, sheep and chickens who are similar to cats and dogs in intelligence, and are sensitive creatures that love to play with humans if given the opportunity. Human integration with animals at visiting Farms have proven to be highly beneficial for people suffering with mental health issues.

The Drawn In... exhibition was held by the Association Of Illustration at London's Sheridan Russell Gallery in support of the charity Paintings in Hospitals.

All members were required to submit up to four pieces of artwork with one being donated to the Paintings In Hospitals charity. The painting I donated was an A4 watercolour of a child cuddling a large teddy bear with a plaster on its head which incidentally, you can see in chapter four of my book entitled Heavy Rainbows.

I exhibited artwork at several events held at The Liverpool Academy of Arts. It was always a good opportunity to visit friends and family from my home town when handing in the artwork. Every year they held an exhibition showcasing Beatles Art, where I sold a couple of portraits of John Lennon.

The SAA Open Exhibitions were held in a grand old building set in a beautiful countryside village near Ollerton in Nottinghamshire. My wife and I fell in love with the area and moved somewhere close by during 2007.

I recall talking with Lady Rozelle Raynes, who organised the events, whilst handing in my artwork. She was softly spoken and appeared genuinely interested in my paintings asking their titles and what they represented. At the time I didn't know who she was and assumed it was just another artist submitting artwork until, the assistant receiving my artwork, told me the lady I'd been talking to was the owner of the gallery and responsible for organising the exhibition.

The exhibition had originally been entitled The Distance Between Land and Sea, however the curators had decided, in my absence, to change the name to Atmosphere. This was the last exhibition to be held by The Liverpool Academy of Arts in Seel Street, Liverpool, due to the building (and most of the surrounding area) being scheduled for demolition in preparation of the Liverpool European City of Culture activities the following year.

The Atmosphere exhibition attracted publicity from the local media including a feature in Liverpool's Daily Post with the heading: Artist Returns Home To Find The Picture Has Changed by Philip Key, in which I discuss how Liverpool had become more attractive to artists following a policy of regeneration by the local government and the subsequent dramatic increase of international tourists.

The local radio also discussed the exhibition, offering the listener relevant times and dates to visit. My Dad and old school friend Ian joined me for the private viewing before we went for a drink nearby. I considered the project a success after selling three of the paintings.

From the summer of 2009 Artgallery.co.uk managed my exhibitions involving venues such as The Cambridge Art Fair, Callows Yard Gallery (Isle of Mann), Edinburgh Art Fair and two shows at The Malvern Theatres. Aileen, a director at Artgallery.co.uk, was extremely helpful concerning the logistics involved with transporting twenty-plus large oil paintings across the UK to various venues, and payed all the fees involved with the exhibitions. She also dealt with customer queries and the administration involved with sales of my artwork, to which I'm very grateful. I've covered such experiences involving these exhibitions and the subsequent sales, some humorous, in more detail in my book entitled Heavy Rainbows.

After retiring from teaching, this was my first exhibition for over ten years where I showcased Golden Fleece as part of the Paintings Exhibition at the Fronteer Gallery in Sheffield, 8th - 17th April 2025.

The painting was accompanied by the following text:

The painting was inspired from a photograph I'd taken during a wonderful day out at a Visiting Farm, a place where people can interact with the resident animals usually consisting of sheep, pigs, cows and chickens, who have a similar intelligence to that of cats and dogs. Visiting Farms serve as an affordable day out for people of all ages. They are a place where you can recharge your batteries whilst the kids burn off their excess energy, and have recently been proven to relieve mental health issues related to anxiety and stress.

The Past & Present exhibition consisted of artwork created by my Advanced students at the Sutton Community Academy in Nottinghamshire, when I was teaching a variety of lifelong learning art courses.

Each student exhibited two paintings related to their hometown, one conveying historic content and the artist's personal childhood memories. And the other being more contemporary, highlighting how times have changed within the area.

A local newspaper photographer joined me and the group in the library whilst we were hanging the artwork, she asked several questions about the exhibition and took a few photographs, which resulted in a two page spread (shown here), and served as a great confidence booster for my students, several of whom progressed onto further education courses, and a couple went on to work freelance, one creating calendars and another painting pet animals.