Brighton painter finds lockdown love

Philip married Veryan Greenwood just before Christmas. They met a week before the first lockdown.

Philip is known for colourful scenes of Brighton, many featuring images of deckchairs.

He and his wife Carole moved their shop Window Gallery from the Brighton Lanes to Turner Dumbrell Workshops in Ditchling around ten years ago.

Shortly afterwards, he suffered – and survived – a near-fatal cardiac arrest. The sudden death of his best friend (and picture-framer) followed two months later. Then, in 2013, his wife of 35 years took her own life, after many years of battling severe depression.

A totally devastated Philip had now lost his soul mate and business partner, as well as his best friend and, nearly, his own life. Over the next seven years, he soldiered grimly on, almost losing the will to paint, but still running his gallery and picture-framing business, but on his own now.

Heartbroken and alone, with his faithful Dachshund Arty, as his only companion, he tried to find love again, but without success. Then a week before lockdown in March, he met Veryan, a Brighton resident, on a date in a coffee shop in Ditchling. They hit it off immediately and, a week later, decided to lock down together at Philip’s Ditchling home. And just before Christmas they married – just nine months after meeting for the first time.

Philip said: “I’m so happy to have found my lockdown love. Business is booming and I’ve started to paint again. All is well with my world!”