So who needs incentive?

When I came out of the Navy (into the reserves and permitted to take up additional employment) I took a job at a coal mine because I didn’t really have any transferable skills and it was the only job I could get. I absolutely hated it and ended up there years.

One bright spot was they had an annual national art competition at Olympia in Blackpool and I submitted this piece in 1978 and won it.

The theme of the picture was the new incentive bonus the NCB had introduced to get men to work harder, and the reference to Denis Healey is that he was Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time.

The artwork (in my view now) is absolutely awful but, because I won the competition, doors opened for me as a press illustrator. Plus my prize was £60. Although I loathe this picture for its artwork and negative memories I have included it in my collection as it tells another story of my life in art. Back then I was offered another £60 by Dosco Company who wanted to buy it but declined as I didn’t want it forever on display or used for advertising that I could not avoid at that time. I still have this work, rolled up in a cardboard tube.