Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and brought up in both Hong Kong and Teesdale, Charles has painted throughout his life in one form or another. After studying the Violin at the Royal College of Music, London, his first post was as a member of the Würzburg Opera orchestra, broadening his horizons by working with singers, musicians, set designers, wig makers, and ballet dancers.

Charles has attended courses at the St Ives School of Painting, the Ruskin College of Art, Life drawing at the Salmagundi Club, New York, and several courses with Alvaro Castagnet. On his travels, there is always a set a paints in his rucksack and these have accompanied him on treks to the Himalayas, kayak expeditions in the Alaskan wilderness, up mountains in Kyrgyzstan, and on many trips to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan.

Charles has held exhibitions in the UK, France, and Bermuda and his work is now in collections from San Diego to Sydney. Several paintings are owned by the Bank of Butterfield, HSBC, and Bank of Bermuda. He has won several awards for his Plein Air paintings, most recently winning the Bermuda Plein Air Festival with his painting ‘Turkey Hill’.