Allan has lived and worked all his life on the West Coast of the South Island. Not always an artist, over the years he has worked for the New Zealand Railways and latterly retrained as an Accountant, mixing this occupation with his artwork. After a break of ten years to concentrate on raising a family, one day in 2004 he decided to step back into the art world, try a new direction, so embarked on painting.
He is an entirely self-taught artist painting on canvas using oil paints, applied in a meticulous fashion, layering thin glazes of colour to achieve a photo realistic effect. The beauty of the West Coast in its many forms has inspired Allan’s work from architectural flora in all its diversity and colour to close up detail of rugged coastlines. He tries to capture a sense of tranquility and beauty in many of his paintings. In essence, natural unspoiled New Zealand.