Adrian was born in Lancashire and studied at the Blackpool College of Art, where he later went on to teach. He has a great passion for the life of the wild and as a conservationist, he is determined that all birds and animals should have their habitat preserved. He firmly believes that all animals have a personality, which comes across in the way they live.


Winner of no less that three awards at the 5th Annual Open Exhibition of the Wildlife Art Society in 1996, Adrian swept the board with ‘Overall Best in Show’, ‘Society Members Best in Show’ and ‘Best Newcomer’.


"From first being able to pick up a pencil I occupied myself with sketching and drawing. In a pre-computer games age the ability to create my own worlds on a pad of paper was wonderful exercise for my imagination; and imagination is a vital ingredient for all Artists. No amount of research, notes, sketches and photographs can provide an Artist with everything he or she needs to produce a painting – it is the ability to fill in the gaps that is the job of an Artists imagination and it is this which is the key to a paintings success. Add to this my child-like fascination with almost everything and you can understand why I never get bored. Sometimes the most detailed information is required in order to get a painting absolutely accurate, but research is knowledge and I love to learn new facts.


My artistic talent was recognised quite early by my teachers and they encouraged me to go through the usual exams. Luckily I achieved top grades at school and college and went to study natural history illustration at Blackpool College, which offered the only course of it’s kind in the country. Here for the first time two of my great passions were combined – art and wildlife, and I loved minute of it. I passed out with top grades and was flattered to be asked to return the following year and teach part-time. This I did and it helped launch me on a professional career, which at that time was advertising illustration.


Advertising is a cutthroat and demanding area to work in, deadlines are short and standards are high; it was a superb way to learn my trade. By it’s very nature advertising work is sporadic but when the jobs came in, they would be lucrative. The time between jobs I filled by painting the things that interested me most and trying to find galleries to exhibit my paintings. This happened quite quickly and it was refreshing to leave advertising behind and become a full time Artist.


In 1996 I swept the board at the annual show for ‘The Wildlife Art Society’ in London. It was through this that my work came to the attention of Solomon & Whitehead. Though often labelled as a wildlife Artist, my new Publishers quickly realised my scope was far wider and have since concentrated on my marine and aviation work. Even today I paint a variety of subjects. I believe that one subject may help me push forward with another; for example, when working on an image of an aircraft I may realise a new technique for painting the sky which can later be applied to a wildlife piece. Now it is recognised that I can capture a range of subject matters, I feel that as an Artist, my work is no longer categorised. I prefer to be known simply as a ‘Fine Artist’.


My aviation and marine work has one primary objective, which is to transport the viewer to another time and place and feel that they are having a first hand experience of the view:


A spitfire has to look ‘used and abused’ as it was: a working machine in combat. Not an immaculate museum piece or child’s toy.


The Titanic must ‘cut’ through the water like the ‘heavyweight’ giant she was. The sunlight dancing around the superstructure, casting shadows on the waves below.


The finished result should look like a piece of history, frozen in full colour for the viewer to examine in detail.


In 2001 one of my wildlife works was selected for exhibition in the prestigious ‘Birds in Art’ event at the Leigh Yawhee Woodson art Museum in America. The works were produced as posters to promote the exhibition. It was at this time that Solomon & Whitehead were also achieving incredible success with ‘Titanic’s last Sunset’. Proof if ever it was needed that two totally different subjects can run side by side from a singular Artist.


Producing a picture


Research, research, research. This is the key to the success of an aviation piece; over the years I have built up a large personal library of books to make sure I get all of the facts right. I try to portray a particular aircraft on a particular day, this even involves getting the weather right! Squadron codes, markings and camouflage must be correct, serial numbers are researched thoroughly.


By combining all of these elements a painting is created, once the research has been completed the ‘real’ work begins starting with the sky and the background – the setting in which the aircraft is flying is slowly built up. The light of the backdrop must be consistent with the light falling on all other elements of the picture – if the lighting is not correct the aircraft will look as though it does not belong on the background. Eventually the aircraft begins to take form, scratches and dirt are added where the aircraft would have accumulated such things, machine gun ports, exhaust and ammunition streaks are all included to add reality to the piece.


The final stage is to place the piece out of sight and to review the image with a fresh pair of eyes. It is surprising the small details that escaped my attention; with these amended the piece is finished."