From an early age my parents encouraged me to draw and paint, perhaps originally to keep me quiet and amused, but it gave me a very good start and for that I am grateful. I spent a lot of my life wanting to combine my hobbies with my working life, to me that was a dream of happiness. So  I started working in an arts and craft shop. It was then I discovered my favourite medium oils. I have put a lot of time and patience improving my work over the years. In 2004 I decided to teach others what I had learnt over the years, and haven't looked back since. I get great joy out of watching our students get stuck in to their painting and seeing the joy and the surprised faces when they have completed a piece of work.

 When I met Adrian, who at the time was living in Switzerland working as an artist and art teacher. I found I had finally met a lovely person to share my interests and life with. He asked me to join him in Switzerland and work with him over there. It was great. Although I couldn't speak the language I was fine, with a paint brush in my hand and Adrian interpreting I hit it off. It was a wonderful experience. It just proved to me you can communicate with painting even though you cannot speak their language. The Swiss people and I got on just fine and I have made some wonderful and interesting friends. Since coming back to England we have met many very nice people, many who have given me great inspiration. I am always looking for new things to inspire my painting, and new ideas to get people to start painting. I will finish by saying don't put off painting to another time, start today, you will never look back and wish, "if only". You will see the world with new eyes. Trust me its true.

When I left school I held series of nondescript jobs (selling cameras in a photographers shop, removal man, baggage man in a train station) to pay the bills and study at the same time at the art school in St.Gallen in Switzerland. Which sadly after two years I had to quit. I simply couldn't afford to attend the full five years. At the age of 19 I joined the army serving as a fusilier. 1995 - 1998 I drove trucks for  a humanity aid transport organisation, based in Switzerland, to ex eastern block countries.

I continued to paint,  sometimes with Walter Gadient a very good friend and artist who kindly taught me everything about various techniques of traditional oil painting  that I probably wouldn't have learnt in art school.

In 1995 my parents founded Start-Art, an art school in Switzerland where I occasionally taught oil painting. In 2004 I started to teach art full time.

In 2006 Annette and I moved back to England and founded Adan-Art introducing our Simply Oils painting technique.

Artist

Annette Cooke

Artist

Adrian Turner