I enjoy painting heraldry and I try to include it in portraits, frames, cards, objects, and library paintings. This gallery includes work I have done illustrating documents, oil paintings and designing silver pieces. I also assist and advise clients who are considering to petition for a grant of Scottish Arms or want to register their Arms in other jurisdictions.

Heraldry was born as a practical matter during the Middle Ages. Heralds were the original diplomats, the officers involved in official proclamations, tournaments, carrying official messages and marshalling ceremonies. Knights in suits or armour were unrecognisable so the herald had to be able to identify them by the design of the visual devices worn by the armoured warriors. In time, practical rules to ensure visually effective heraldry were developed and the designs become hereditary, thus the herald became the acknowledged authority on armory and genealogy.

In modern times heraldry exists as a way to identify a person and their family, by “the systemic use of hereditary devices centred on the shield”(C. Boutell). Heraldry is regulated in Scotland where bearing Arms without an official grant from the Crown constitutes a criminal offence. Official heraldic offices still exist in other countries like England, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, Canada, Malta and South Africa.