Howard J Haxton

It's been a few years now since I started playing around with the idea of creating digital paintings from 3d models.

My first effort was in conjunction with the Poppyland Publishing books on Overstrand when I made a basic model of the old village, from which the painting of The Londs was imagined. It still stands up fairly well, although I would change a few things now, but it was a start.

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Since then I've done a few other paintings from roughly the same era and it has recently occurred to me that I could adopt a pseudonym and continue to create watercolors of Poppyland past.

Poppyland has always had an enduring fascination for me having been born and bred in Cromer. I was always proud of this part of the world and have become increasingly familiar with the Poppyland story as I've got older.

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I now live in Dilham which is why there are a couple of paintings of the old water mill, and it's been a few years since I last did anything meaningful, but I think I'm ready to return to Poppyland as watercolorist Howard Haxton.

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Why have I chosen the name Howard J Haxton?

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Well, Howard Haxton was a dear neighbour of my wife and I in Dilham who died over a decade ago very suddenly. Howard was an amateur art dealer specialising in local landscapes, he was a frequent visitor to various auction houses and was often seen at various art shows across the county.

Howard's middle initial was actually 'A', but I've used 'J' in memory of his devoted dog, 'Jamie'.