Each day John Puckey goes to a studio in a garden, in a village near Exeter. Here, he paints portraits in thick oil paint on pieces of wood. All his paintings are of heads with very little else included. John has painted portraits in this manner since he left university two years ago. At school John learnt how to paint under the infamous neo-impressionist artist Claire Western. In his first year as a professional John won two awards for his portraits – the Art in Devon Prize at the South West Academy and the Visitors’ Choice Award at the Thelma Hulbert Open. More recently John has been shortlisted for the prestigious Holburne Portrait Prize. John’s current and past sitters include Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Seth Lakeman, Michael Caines, Ben Bradshaw, Lady Mary Holborrow, Michael Eavis and Sir John Nott.