I paint portraits and find the practice endlessly fascinating. I paint other genres but always come back to portraits. What is it about portraits? I have often wondered.

Tony Merrick was born in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England in 1948, the birthplace of sculptor and artist Henry Moore.

I first stumbled upon the SC last January, two suitcases full of brushes in tow, and snow up to my knees. I was immediately made to feel so welcome; the Salmagundi Club is somewhere I will always make time to visit when I’m in New York.

Roger formerly directed wildlife films as a Senior Producer for the renowned BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, England for series such as The Natural World and Wildlife on One.

You can get a clue as to the origin or present home port of a fishing boat by decoding its official registration number, usually painted somewhere visible on stern or bow. Taken from first and last letter, PE declares Penzance, FY Fowey and so on.

Artist James Willis has a BA Hons in Fine Art and Music, as well as an MA in the History of Art. He was the resident artist at the Sir John Soanes’ museum for some years and runs lectures on painting techniques and concepts.