Let me begin by explaining that my objective with these How I Did It (HIDI) guides is to short cut your skill development. After years of experimenting creating art as a novice, through hard work and persistence, I developed my skill set to be able to create art that people want to buy or, most importantly for me, that I get satisfaction from producing. I am not a trained artists so I would not be so bold as to tell you how to do it. I can though tell you how I did it, warts and all. I also seem to have a natural affinity with charcoal and pastel and how to manipulate them, which has made my pet portraits in charcoal popular and sought after. I still have a passion for watercolour and acrylics though and regularly undertake commissions in both mediums for clients. I will therefore be producing How I Did It (HIDI) guides for these as well, as I release new work.