Dave has a very clear viewpoint about his work. 'If I could talk about my paintings, I wouldn't need to paint them'. His workload is impressive, if he isn't in his studio or taking art classes, he is reading about art, especially the Renaissance greats. His knowledge of the moors comes from cutting peats, a practical art that seems to transfer directly to his paintings, which look as if they could set the heather on fire and glow all through a night's darkness. This absorption with the material of the earth extends as far as mixing his own colours from raw pigment and blending media such as wax, resin, oil and egg tempera. Like smoke from the peat, his paintings smell of alchemy.