I discovered stone carving at Glastonbury Festival in 2017 and in September 2020 I took the plunge and after 40 years following a career in the commercial world I left my job to throw myself wholeheartedly into sculpture.

I owed it to myself having decided at school to park my artistic abilities to “return to later in life”. Creativity is a gift and it would be remiss of me to just dabble as a hobby and not to make the most of it.

As a sculptor I’m constantly experimenting, trying new materials, learning new skills and exploring new creative ideas to develop my artistic practice. What I have learned is that carving stone is my true passion and it's the heart and soul of most of what I make. Getting lost for hours in the rhythms of carving using tools that have been used for centuries is a pure joy. The stone's hardness, colour, texture and imperfections dictate a lot of the creative process either as a block I impart my ideas upon or as a unique stone that guides my ideas.

I've had no formal training but attended courses with The Society of Portrait Sculptors, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and marble carving courses in Pietrasanta,Italy. In 2024 and 2025 I spent the month of October at Tre Luci Studios in Pietrasanta fully immersing myself in the world of sculpture and stone carving. Magical!

I'm the co-founder and co-owner of The Sculpture Gallery in Leeds which is the only artist-led gallery dedicated to showing sculpture in the UK! Over 4 years we have been able to support over 50 sculptors through solo exhibitions or groups shows and long may it continue.

Before discovering stone carving I used to take photos as my primary creative passion and many moons ago I used to draw and paint in oils and have carved wood on and off but not to any real degree...

...oh and my great great Grandfather was Samuel McCloy and Irish watercolour painting who has work in the V&A.

Thanks for looking at my work

Steve
Stockport, United Kingdom