My first recollection of having an interest in art was at the age of 10 when I entered into a school Easter Card Competition and won first prize. This inspired me to carry on drawing, particularly incorporating my main interest at that time of aircraft and cars. Things changed when I was 12 – for Christmas I was given a set of oil paints and an easel (the easel I still use today 40 years later!).

See All John Wilson Originals

Born in a coastal town of North Wales, Kerry’s passion for art was inspired by a love of beautiful old picture books. See All Kerry Darlington Originals

Born and raised in North Shields, 1971, my childhood was filled with happy times; from building tyre swings over streams to doing ‘dodgy deals’ in bike parts with my friends. Some days I’d play football for so long that I’d hardly have the energy to walk home; arriving back to my dinner plated up and shrivelled to a crisp- my mam would never mind though.  Memories of my father working in the shipyards (when they were still running) with other proud hard grafting men also sit clearly in my mind. 


See All Mark Grieves Originals

One of my earliest and fondest memories of junior school was running from assembly to be the first in the line before double art on a Tuesday morning, as I could not wait to continue working on what I had done the previous week. This early obsession continued throughout my education, and whenever asked what I wanted to do when I grew up the answer was always ‘to be an artist!’ I was extremely lucky to have a fantastic art department at college where I really found my strengths in draftsmanship, particularly in life class.

See All Simon Claridge Originals

I remember staring out from the front gate as a child watching the other children playing in the street wondering where my future would take me. Since graduating in 2000 I have been practising my art as a full time career, and I am now beginning to realise that the dream of spending my life painting has become a reality.

I was extremely conscientious at school, always trying my hardest and as a result doing well in most subjects.


See All Sarah Graham Originals

It was over forty years ago now that I remember watching my father painting and drawing in his studio at home; just the same way in which my youngest son now watches me. This is when I decided that I wanted to be a painter. See All Keith Proctor Originals

History and Background
I was born in 1969, the youngest of five children and grew up on a council estate in Leicester. It was a happy childhood. From an early age I was able to draw.
My mother and father were both creative people but in other trades. My mother was a hairdresser. She had a strong visual ability that allowed her to foresee how something should look before starting the task in hand; an essential pre-requisite for any artist. See All Adam Barsby Originals

Born and raised in North Shields, 1971, my childhood was filled with happy times; from building tyre swings over streams to doing ‘dodgy deals’ in bike parts with my friends. Some days I’d play football for so long that I’d hardly have the energy to walk home; arriving back to my dinner plated up and shrivelled to a crisp- my mam would never mind though.  Memories of my father working in the shipyards (when they were still running) with other proud hard grafting men also sit clearly in my mind. 


See All Mark Grieves Originals

When people ask me, “When did you start painting?” or, “What got you interested in art?”  I have to reply, that I simply don’t know! It’s something that I have always done and always felt passionate about. When I look back at my childhood, I can remember wanting to stay late at nursery and primary school to finish my painting and if I remember correctly, I took the specialised art of ‘drawing on walls’ to a new level.

See All Rob Ford Originals

One of my earliest memories of being an artist is when I was 6 years old painting with poster paints at the kitchen table while the family were fixed in front of the TV. Using stolen architectural (just finished) drawings of my Dads I would be filling in all the rooms in colour and drawing people stood next to the buildings. I’ve never seen my Dad so upset and angry, but he is now my biggest fan.

See All Richard Rowan Originals

I am the youngest of four children; born and brought up in Devon, I grew up by the sea. My dad was a head teacher of a primary school and my mum was from a generation of women who were primarily mums, and for that I thank her. She painted and drew for pleasure, and was really good at making pretty much whatever we kids demanded of her. 25 years on, I found myself doing the same thing with my own children. My love of using my hands to make things definitely comes from her side of the family.

See All Mandy Long Originals

George Ioannou was born in Croydon, South London in 1974. His early inspiration came from the comic book heroes of the 1950s and 1960s, and having gained his art A-Level, his early ambition was to be a cartoonist. See All George Ioannou Originals

At an early age Gary discovered that he had a natural gift for painting.

Throughout his schooldays he excelled at the subject and his unique style began to develop. His fascinating, unusual designs are a combination of his graphic ability and his highly creative artistic side.

 

See All Gary Walton Originals

"Draw me some jungle animals." said my infant school teacher. At the tender age of 6, I was excused from assembly for a whole week in order to draw animals for her ambitious 'Jungle Frieze'. I drew and drew and the results were impressive. The curious combination of lions, tigers, kangaroos, pandas and chimps plus many more assorted animals inhabiting the same jungle didn't seem to worry her as her frieze was fully populated.

See All Nick Potter Originals

I was born in Bournemouth, Dorset on the 25th March 1970 and have lived within10 miles of my birthplace all my life. I can’t remember exactly when it was, but I know I was very young when I first started learning to draw. Detail was always my thing; if my drawing didn’t look like the object or scene I was looking at then I would find it a most infuriating experience.

See All Paul Corfield Originals

I come from a theatrical background. I’m half Irish and my childhood home was a place where extraordinary things happened. It was an environment where my brothers and I seemed bound to do something unusual.

I’m very grateful for that.

Drawing was the original expression. I would draw an awful lot, trying to emulate other Artists, to understand how they created what they did; but sketching it was and remained to be, until I found the mettle to use colour. See All Hamish Blakely Originals

A pivotal moment in the young Paul Kenton’s life was a move from his birth place in Derby to the West Country when he was eight years old. As a teenager he learnt to surf on the wild beaches of North Devon and as a keen surfer he has travelled the world realising inspiration for another passion; his art. Now settled in Ilfracombe with his Brazilian partner, Alexandra and two young daughters, Kenton still surfs when he’s not in the studio or enjoying the hectic pandemonium of family life. 

See All Paul Kenton Originals

Painting has been my life for as long as I can remember.  Having won numerous competitions as a child I went on to study Life Drawing at Reading University Art School, then trained as a figurative illustrator at the prestigious Carlton Studios in London. Following my National Service in Paris as a Draughtsman in the Royal Signals (where I still managed to spend most of my time painting) I spent the next few years working freelance, illustrating for national magazines, books and advertising agencies......

See All Gordon King Originals

Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1945 Douglas Hofmann attended grade school through high school in his hometown. After high school he enrolled in a business college in Baltimore only to leave after a month questioning his career choice. He started to work at a local department store as a window trimmer where, Hofmann says, he learned about color design. See All Douglas Hoffman Originals

Born in Liverpool 1962
I have always had a passion for painting; I went straight from Quarry Bank Secondary School to study an Art Foundation Course at Liverpool Polytechnic, before successfully applying to study a Fine Arts Degree at Central School of Art and Design in London, graduating in 1984.
. See All Bill Bate Originals

History & Background.
I was born in Taiyuan in northern China in 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, and named Ge, meaning “Revolution”.

As a child I loved to draw. I soon became interested in photography and lacking a darkroom, I managed to print photos in the darkness under my bed.

At 16 I went to Xiamen College of Arts and Crafts in southern China to study traditional Chinese painting. I learnt how to balance the empty spaces and the subjects in my paintings and how to paint the elegant lines of bamboo.

See All Ge Feng Originals

I was born in Sheffield and was very young when I first realised that I wanted to be an artist. My father taught Art and showed me the basics. Our house had prints of paintings on many of its walls. The ones I particularly remember are ‘The Card Players’ by Cezanne, ‘The Laughing Cavalier’ by Frans Hals, and works by Gauguin, Turner and Constable. See All Mark H Wilson Originals

Daisy Boman grew up in the Flemish part of Belgium, near Antwerp. Even as a child drawing was her favourite pastime and this eventually led her to enter the Academy of Fine Art, where she studied interior design and photography. She then proceeded to experiment with ceramics, and the new possibilities that this medium offers inspired her to go still further. In 1981 her husband was offered an exciting opportunity as an architect in South Africa and the couple moved to Johannesburg.

See All Daisy Boman Originals

Born in Shrewsbury in 1976 I am the eldest of twin boys. Being the son of a doctor and a nurse, I always felt in safe hands right from the start. My artistic flare may well have been passed down from my mother's side. She was one of a family of ten children. Music and art was a central part of growing up in Dublin. My grandfather was from five generations of tailors and trained in Saville Row to become a bespoke tailor. He had three shops in Ireland, one of which was in historical Kilmainham, Dublin.

See All Drew Darcy Originals

Timmy Mallett is known as a TV and entertainment personality, but is just as versatile and colourful in his artistic endeavours. See All Timmy Mallett Originals

I was born in Hampshire to a beautiful, artistic, free spirited young woman and her tall handsome naval officer husband. My earliest memories are of an incredibly happy family life with time spent in such exotic locations as South Africa & the Far East. When I was six, we returned to England & set up home in a small country village back in the beautiful Hampshire countryside. See All Louise Dear Originals

I have always been interested in art right from an early age. After having attended Art College, I decided I favoured printmaking and opened up a print making studio in Kent where I spent many years developing my etching and collagraph techniques.

After the storm of October 1997 I was commissioned to produce a limited edition etching of Kew Gardens. Other commissions have included ones for Natwest Bank and The Dorchester Hotel.

See All Mark Spain Originals