A SELF-TAUGHT Severn Stoke art teacher is turning to the beliefs he has always instilled in his pupils to help him find the courage to carve a professional career out of painting.

Dave Peplow took his first steps down the road to expressing himself on canvas at a night course at Malvern Hills College 25 years ago.

His interest eventually led him to teach art to disabled people at Malvern Day Centre, an experience that has acquainted him intimately with the struggle to find enough self-confidence to pick up a paintbrush.

When teaching people, he first has to persuade them that art is not something on a pedestal, but is accessible to all.

"I teach that there is no right or wrong answer," he said. "We're all creative people. We all have a right to make our mark."

He says art education often makes art seem so unattainable that his students feel they have no right to attempt it themselves.

"When I've got them to forget that perception, they have surprised themselves as to the quality of work they produce," he said. "I get great satisfaction from that."

His background in engineering has also forced him to come to terms with his own limitations.

"In engineering, if what you produce is not perfect, it's no good," he said. "I've had to forget that, because art is not perfect, and I have had to learn that I will always be, to a degree, unhappy with the work I produce. It's more important to express what you feel."

His pragmatism is reflected in the way he paints. As well as paintbrushes, he will use credit cards, bits of cardboard or anything else he can lay hands on to blend clouds and lines of colour.

He is now putting what he preaches into practice. TGJ Framing in Worcester, a framing firm that also has two floors of paintings on display, has accepted his work to be exhibited there indefinitely.

"I have found it very challenging, as my students do," he admitted. "I look in there, and I like everything I see. If I had the money, I would buy it all! It's very pleasing to me, being self-taught, being in amongst them."

So far, he feels his experiences have vindicated his philosophy: "I'm getting very positive feedback from people who see them, and that makes me very proud and confirms what I believe about all of us."