I've always had a love of nature and its expression in art. Landscapes, portraits

and figures. Seeing the panorama of scenery rendered on a flat surface with the

power to invoke the real thing, captured me in a moment and I wanted to do that

too. Give me an easel, pencil and brush. 

Playing as a child I revered the fauna and

flora around my boyhood home in the Weald of south-east England and I'd

spend hours in the surrounding woods and fields developing an abiding engagement

with nature's glories.

Some of my paintings will strike a chord with those of you, who-like me- retain

powerfully nostalgic memories of life in rural England in the 1950's and 60s,

before the rough and tumble of today’s modern life hurried us along.

Oh, those mighty coal-burning steam engines billowing steam in long white

clouds and me standing on a bridge as it passed under enveloping me 

in a coal furnace and oily-smelling brief mist. And

the smell of tar being laid on the road with slow-moving steam rollers. Nothing evokes

these memories more than a whiff from the past bringing back unhesitating memories.

I used to walk along quiet country lanes festooned with wild flowers in the

hedgerows whose names I had yet to learn and their hidden abundance of 

noisy birds and animals. I remember stopping with elbows on farmer's gate 

to soak up the scenery of crops, trees, that concealed a village a half-mile away and how 

the wildlife approached nearby if I kept still for a while.

I began my career after 5 years of study at Reigate College of Art, then working in television

as a scenic designer, also painting, and illustrating in my spare time a wide range of books and magazines.

Now comes along retirement with leisurely time to paint without a tight schedule

except the occasional exhibition and specific request. For me, painting is as much 

a part of a day as eating and sleeping. I cannot imagine a day passing without holding a 

brush or pencil. Muscle memory lives in my hand.

I still spend a great deal of time observing and sketching outdoors. Most of my

wildlife illustrations are finished in the studio, but my landscape work is painted

outdoors. I work mainly in watercolour and pastel but enjoy using oil, acrylic and even 

discovering new media.

I've had work published by various publishers * (below). You'll see my range

as you view the images in the galleries.

*David & Charles publishers, Trout and Salmon magazine, Royal Publishing

EMAP Publishing, Rymans Future Publishing, Shooting Times magazine, 

and Kent County Council…and I'm an associate member of The Guild of Railway Artists

Email: philalan@mac.com