An English painter who specialized in portraits (for his income) and landscapes (for his pleasure).   Set up as a portrait painter initially in Sudbury and Ipswich but later moved to Bath where his patrons were drawn from influential Members of Society then, after being elected a founder Member of the Royal Academy, moved permanently to London where he soon established himself as a Court favorite.   Very much an individual painter although his works were influenced to a degree by other artists.   For example his early works reflect the influence of French engraving and Dutch landscaping painting whilst his veneration  of van Dyck clearly shows in some of his works executed at Bath (the Blue Boy) and a touch of Rubens is hinted at in some of his later landscapes.