Self-taught painter Ray Burgoyne dies at 80

Ray Burgoyne, a self-taught painter, carpenter, and musician, has died aged 80. He first exhibited in the late 1980s and spent 30 years organizing exhibitions along the Essex and Suffolk coastline. Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, he left school at 14 to apprentice as a cabinet maker. In the early 1960s, he was a founding member and drummer for the Flowerpots, a mod band that opened for the Animals and the Who. He worked as a carpenter, including at a boat-building yard in Leigh-on-Sea and as master carpenter at the Palace theatre in Westcliff-on-Sea. After moving to Friston, Suffolk, in 1999, he became a full-time artist, exhibiting primarily in Aldeburgh. His abstract paintings featured thick oil application and conjured shapes. He is survived by his wife Gilly, six children, and 15 grandchildren.