Specialisation: Oils on Canvas:
Aviation, Landscapes and Seascapes
Born in 1946, Graham was brought up on the Isle of Wight – hence his love of the sea. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1962 as an Apprentice Airframe Fitter at RAF Halton -101st Entry. Always interested in art, Graham decorated numerous crew rooms with cartoon characters, but his main interest was calligraphy. He took up painting in oils some 34 years ago.
Commissioned in 1979 as an Engineering Officer, Graham subsequently specialised in weapons engineering and was OC Armament Engineering Squadron at RAF Marham at the onset of the 1991 Gulf War. He deployed to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia in September 1990 as a member of the advanced party and remained at Tabuk until the end of the conflict in March 1991. He was awarded the MBE in the Gulf Honours List. On return from the Gulf, he painted a number of paintings, one of which, ‘A Few Minutes to Go’ won the 1991 Armed Forces Art Society prize which was presented by General Sir Peter De la Billiere. In December 1998, Graham was detached to Ali Al Salem, Kuwait during Operation Desert Fox. His painting of Ali Al Salem, which he completed ‘on site’, was donated to the Royal Air Force Club in London together with another painting of Tornado aircraft flying over RAF Cottesmore.
Many of Graham’s paintings have been made into cards and limited edition prints and sales of prints have raised over £14,000 for RAF charities. Eighteen of his original paintings hang in RAF Messes and crew rooms.
Graham retired from the RAF in 2001 having served for 39 years and 3 months. He now paints full time from his studio at home in Stamford where he also has a fully equipped framing workshop.
Graham joined the Guild of Aviation Artists in 1991 and has been a regular exhibitor at the Aviation Paintings of the Year Exhibition in London. He also served as Guild Vice-Chairman for some 18 months before retiring from the RAF. He has continued his active involvement with the Guild and organised the annual Submission Day for 10 years. He has given numerous talks and demonstrations including demonstrations of cloudscapes at the Mall Galleries in London. In 2004, he was promoted to Full Member of which there are only 65 nationally. In 2007, he was given the rare honour of having his work feature on both the publicity poster and the front cover of the catalogue for the Aviation Paintings of the Year exhibition in London. Graham served for seven years as Chairman of the Guild from 2009 -2016. In 2018 he was elected as a Vice-President of the Guild which is, effectively, a ‘lifetime achievement’ award. Graham always maintains that he owes his success in aviation art to the help and mentoring of the late Frank Wootton OBE who was the Founder President of the Guild.
In 2015, Graham became a Freeman of the City of London and, shortly afterwards, was admitted to the Freedom and subsequently the Livery of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers which is one of the oldest of the London Livery Companies. He is also a Member of the Guild of Freemen of the City of London and a Member of the City Livery Club.
He held his first solo exhibition in the Stamford Arts Centre in November 2003 and has organised a further 3 exhibitions since.
Former Life
This photo was taken at RAF Cottesmore in 1998 when Graham was OC Mechanical Engineering Ground Squadron (MEGS). During the final Families Day of the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE), sales of prints from this painting raised over £5,000 for RAF Cottesmore charities. Graham has since donated the original painting to the Royal Air Force Club, Picadilly, London.
The photograph, taken by Cpl Steve Witty, won the 1998 Strike Command photographic competition prize for the ‘Best Portrait in Uniform’.
Current Life
Demonstrating at the top of Little Trinity Lane, London, during the Painter-Stainers’ “Art in the City” exhibition, October 2017 – with Graham’s adoring fans!
