Alan Ingham’s interests have always included drawing and painting, which for many years had to blend into the background of his busy life.

At the tender age of thirteen Alan left his life-long home in Yorkshire to join the Navy through the R.N college situated in Dartmouth. He soon specialised in hydrographical surveying (chart making). This took him around the globe, leaving little room for creating a homely family life, but rewarding him with the hand of a cartographer and the highly skilled eye of a surveyor. His yearning for his native land was the factor that would determine his the rest of his life’s course.

In his thirties he left the Navy behind him and starting using his expertise to educate students hoping to become successful in the offshore oil and gas industries. After the writing of two educational textbooks for his course, painting once again became a major part of the artist’s newly found spare time. The end of the 1970’s saw his watercolours being reproduced widely on calendars and greeting cards. His work became even more popular following the regular nationwide exhibitions of his original works.

1984 was the key year for Alan Ingham as he settled with his wife, Rose, in Gloucestershire and became a full-time artist. His life bustled with trips to gather material for future projects and long periods in his studio. The old surveyor’s motto of “No day too long, no work too arduous” still rang true, but now more than ever, held a certain pleasure and contentment that was tasted only briefly before.

His originals, now numbering well over 1200 can now be found in private and corporate collections worldwide. Success has come in many forms - 1996 saw the publication of his book “Under a Watercolour sky” and the artist’s limited editions have been remarkably popular, notably his ‘geographical portfolios’ which celebrate the character and uniqueness of various regions within the British Isles.