Born in Stratford-up-on Avon, the only son of artist and metalcraftsman Hague Willmott.Charles, although for the most part self-taught, studied originally at the Birmingham College of Art.He works from his studio attached to his home in Herefordshire, the rural heart of England. Where he lives with his wife Susie and their youngest son Hague.

As a contemporary figurative realist he prepares graphite & charcoal studies before painting in oils.Charles has been painting since the early 60’s and in the mid to late 80’s he acquired a passion for the Orient and its cultures. During 1991 his first one-man show was staged at London’s Mall Galleries and was unique in featuring Japan’s national sport, Sumo.

In more recent times Charles has worked particularly with the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Royal Ballet. In the case of the former covering a number of productions including Tim Albery’s Macbeth and Michael Attenborough’s direction of The Herbal Bed and in the latter working extensively with principal dancers including Miyako Yoshida and Darcey Bussell.

In the years 2000 and 2003 this dedication to the stage and performance achieved him a finalist place in the prestigious Garrick/Milne Prize and today Charles’s work disciplines are divided fairly equally between Portraiture,
Female Form and Dance.