Philip was born in Cork in 1959. From the age of five he loved art, and one of his earliest memories is being tutored in figurative drawing by a family friend Trevor Scott - the founder of the renowned College of Art and Design in Dublin.

At the age of sixteen Philip left school and joined the Irish Navy. This proved to be a great awakening and gave a disillusioned young man a new sense of purpose and destiny. Once he had established himself as a naval diver, he began to paint at sea and soon became prolific. Philip had the great advantage of a unique perspective on the Irish landscape as viewed from the Atlantic Ocean.

The Magic in Philip's art lies in his ability to use his artistic creativity as a natural form of communication. With the extraordinary beauty of the mountainous Western Island, Ireland as his inspiration, Philips's art provides us with the opportunity albeit momentarily, to remove ourselves from the day to day chaos of life and to appreciate the ordered beauty of nature. After seventeen years in the navy and with much encouragement from his wife and family, Philip relinquished his naval career and took the bold step of settuing up on his own as a professional artist. His success was such that he has since become one of Ireland's most collected living artists. Recent collectors include The US President George W Bush.