'A Brush With
The Law'
Robbie
Graham is a UK based artist born in West Germany and currently living in
Tenterden, Kent,UK. Robbie served in the
R.A.F before joining Kent Police, where he served for twenty two years. Robbie
left the police this year to follow his passion to create his photographic like
paintings and at the same time, support a number of conservation programs.
Robbie had an extremely interesting career as a police officer, having served
his last eight years as a detective chief inspector. He was the borough
commander at Maidstone, the county town of Kent. Robbie said, ' It was a great
place to work and as the commander of the station I had the privilege of
hanging lots of my wildlife paintings all over the building. It made the station bright and very different
from the norm! Robbie also spent five
years as the Head of Kent Special Branch where he was responsible for all
counter terrorism operations across the county of Kent. Robbie said' I found this time in career the
most challenging. In 2009 Robbie was
selected to undertake a secondment in South Australia for three months. There he was
sworn in as an uniformed Australian police chief inspector and headed up
operations in Port Adelaide. Robbie said ' I really enjoyed my time in
Australia, having never been there before. It also gave me a wonderful
operation to explore the wonderful wildlife there in my down time'.
Whist
in the police Robbie held a number of fund raising solo exhibitions where he
raised much needed funds for Children Victims Of Crime and big cat conservation
programs.
Robbie
began painting approximately 10 years ago and since then his work has become so
popular that he decided to 'make the leap' from police officer to professional wildlife
artist . His work can now be seen in collections world wild. He is a signature
member of Arts For Conservation and also a featured artist for Daler Rowney,
one of the world's largest art material suppliers . His art work ' Always
Alert' is used by Daler Rowney for their
header boards displaying their designer gouache range.
Intensity © Robbie Graham |
Into the Light © Robbie Graham |
Robbie is self taught and extremely passionate about conservation. He has provided a number of originals to fund raising charities in order to support them. Robbie said' I am always inspired by the many wonderful wildlife artists across the world. Art to me is about creating something that 'connects ' with the viewer and seeks to make them stand back and really appreciate the wonderful creatures we are all so privileged to share this world with. Capturing the true spirit of nature is so important to me . I will always make the eyes the focal point in many of my paintings'.
Memories © Robbie Graham |
Robbie
says, 'my art is not about the
application of paint , It's about making a connection between the viewer and
the subject of the painting'. I started
using gouache having been inspired by Cark Brender's a true master of wildlife
art.
Robbie's
work can be seen by visiting http://Robbiegrahamart.co.uk or Robbiegrahamart on
Face Book or Twitter.
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