My name is Allen J Graham, I was born in 1938 and I live in Shoalwater, Western Australia.

I am retired and took up painting in 2008. I am completely self-taught and adhere to no particular style of painting, preferring to develop naturally. My main interest is painting portraits of people and I mainly use acrylics, although I have an interest also in oils and oil pastels.

Additionally, I paint on flat glass using normal acrylics. To overcome the problem of adhesion to the glass, I first spray the area to be painted with several coats of a clear adhesive and then paint over the adhesive. A simple matt fixative will do it just as well. When finished, I clear away any over-spray, using a sharp glass-scraper. This ensures a transparent area surrounding my painting. I then provide a coloured velvet background behind the glass. I find the paint colours hold beautifully as there is no 'soakage' of paint into the material being painted on. There is no need to 'cook' the painting in an oven as the adhesive is strong and permanent.

I have never submitted a painting for any art award or exhibition, but have sold purely via word-of-mouth and referral. I have received requests to do commission work, but I paint for pleasure and need to feel inspired by some aspect of a subject. If that's not there then I'm painting for the wrong reason (for me). Although I am currently 72 years of age, it is still 'early days' in my painting life.