Painter, muralist and lecturer, strongly influenced by a Sunday painter grandfather who produced landscapes and still lifes in the manner of Cézanne. After Mander College, Bedford, 1980–1, Layzell graduated with honours in fine art from Coventry (Lanchester) Polytechnic, 1981–4. Although large, gestured canvases were then the vogue, he was encouraged by Alan Dyer to work smaller, combining his interest in Flemish Renaissance painting with an inclination towards detail and strong colour. Travel in northern Europe led Layzell to admire the work of Flemish Primitives; later, he developed an interest in English painters such as William Hogarth, Stanley Spencer, Dyer’s Spencerish canvases, Anthony Green and Mick Rooney. Layzell was a part-time lecturer at Lancaster University and Fylde College.