Alan was born in Crystal Brook – ‘where the Flinders begin’ – and his early years were spent on the family farm and other country communities of South Australia. He has sketched and painted since childhood and his artistic study beginnings were at the Port Pirie Technical College followed by a course in Commercial Art. He also recalls a significant period of art instruction while living in Broken Hill during a time of the burgeoning art movement there. Later he studied at UniSA to complement his main vocation in the field of road and freeway design. He claims that although the work was civil engineering in nature, he was fortunate in that a good deal of it was focused on rural and outback areas of the State, which provided endless inspiration for painting subjects.
“As someone once said, and I agree – for most artiste the first 15 years of life has a marked influence on what type of artist they become. This is evident in my work in scenes from the mid-north of the State, an area which holds most significance for me, as the place of growing, maturing, and where I first related to and was shaped by my surroundings. The enduring recollections of boyhood country life, where I began to understand and respond are strong elements in my subject matter and themes. I like the visually rich contrasts of the Flinders, the ranges rising from the plains and the grandness of their ‘outback space’. From these inspirations I like to create paintings that are rendered with intuitive colour and light rather than tight realism”.
Now retired, Alan lives in Adelaide. His ability to interpret a personal response to the landscape often marks his work with a subtle sense of peace and tranquility.
He has been awarded prizes at Victor Harbor and Campbelltown Art Shows and is a keen member of The Painters of the Flinders Ranges.