Born in Croydon in 1953, Horace received what he calls ?a rudimentary art education' at Coventry's Lanchester Polytechnic 1972-5. While there, he met Jerry Dammers and formed The Specials. Travelled the world and its galleries as a professional musician from 1978-1998 at which stage he became Head of Art at a secondary school in Coventry, specialising in teaching young people with autism.

His work combines the bright palette of Pop Art with elements of traditional iconography, following the Pop Art mantra of ?elevating the mundane' by deifying

everyday people, objects and places to celebrate a newly found reverence. His interest in music comes to the fore in his veneration of America's Blues and Jazz. He says: “I didn't just want to paint a picture of Muddy Waters; I wanted to somehow describe the music he played and the impact it had on me”. He describes himself as ?The Borg ... from Star Trek' inasmuch as he appropriates and assimilates so many influences into his art: Rothko, Warhol, Blake, Cornell, Rousseau, Noland, Thiebaud - to name a few!