Biography
Alan Flood a British artist born in Blackburn, Lancashire, began his artistic journey at 15, becoming the youngest student admitted to the foundation course at Blackburn School of Art in 1966. The School emphasised the importance of classical training, focusing on drawing and painting from casts and life models.
In 1969, Flood enrolled in a three-year Dip.AD course at Leeds Polytechnic’s School of Fine Art but left after 14 months. He then worked in advertising alongside Basque illustrator and sculptor Gaizka Solabarietta, later freelancing as an illustrator before returning to painting in 1990. One year later a work was accepted for the National Portrait Gallery BP award in London, One year later a work was accepted for the National Portrait Gallery BP award in London, after which he received numerous commissions public and private, as well as residencies with Leeds Health Trust and Opera North.
In 1992, Sheeran Lock who became Floods agent also published Flood’s Beckett Metamorphosis, a series of six drypoint portraits of playwright Samuel Beckett. Art critic Mary Sara praised the series, stating, “As an example of the expressive potential of the medium, the powerful series of drypoints called A Beckett Metamorphosis can have few equals in recent times"
Flood was also commissioned by John Sheeran and Imogen Lock to create a double drypoint portrait of their sons, Edward (singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran) and Matthew Sheeran.
In 1998, The Kazakh violinist Marat Bisengaliev commissioned Flood to produce a series of portraits. That same year, the Artists Union of Kazakhstan invited him to exhibit in Almaty alongside Bisengaliev and the English Chamber Orchestra. In 2002, the Kazakh government invited him back to Almaty with Bisengaliev and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, where his work was displayed at the Palace of the Republic. Several of his portraits Of Bisengaliev were acquired by the Museum of Art in Almaty.
In 2007, Flood’s patron, composer and entrepreneur Sir Ernest Hall OBE, invited him to be an artist-in-residence at his foundation in Lanzarote, leading to multiple visits and commissions over a three year period.
Flood’s work, which spans portraits, group compositions, still life, interiors, landscapes, and mixed media, has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London and is held in private and public collections across the UK, Ireland, USA, Europe, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Japan, India, and Israel. He works in diverse media, including drawing, printmaking, painting, photography, film, and sculpture.
In 1969, Flood enrolled in a three-year Dip.AD course at Leeds Polytechnic’s School of Fine Art but left after 14 months. He then worked in advertising alongside Basque illustrator and sculptor Gaizka Solabarietta, later freelancing as an illustrator before returning to painting in 1990. One year later a work was accepted for the National Portrait Gallery BP award in London, One year later a work was accepted for the National Portrait Gallery BP award in London, after which he received numerous commissions public and private, as well as residencies with Leeds Health Trust and Opera North.
In 1992, Sheeran Lock who became Floods agent also published Flood’s Beckett Metamorphosis, a series of six drypoint portraits of playwright Samuel Beckett. Art critic Mary Sara praised the series, stating, “As an example of the expressive potential of the medium, the powerful series of drypoints called A Beckett Metamorphosis can have few equals in recent times"
Flood was also commissioned by John Sheeran and Imogen Lock to create a double drypoint portrait of their sons, Edward (singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran) and Matthew Sheeran.
In 1998, The Kazakh violinist Marat Bisengaliev commissioned Flood to produce a series of portraits. That same year, the Artists Union of Kazakhstan invited him to exhibit in Almaty alongside Bisengaliev and the English Chamber Orchestra. In 2002, the Kazakh government invited him back to Almaty with Bisengaliev and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, where his work was displayed at the Palace of the Republic. Several of his portraits Of Bisengaliev were acquired by the Museum of Art in Almaty.
In 2007, Flood’s patron, composer and entrepreneur Sir Ernest Hall OBE, invited him to be an artist-in-residence at his foundation in Lanzarote, leading to multiple visits and commissions over a three year period.
Flood’s work, which spans portraits, group compositions, still life, interiors, landscapes, and mixed media, has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London and is held in private and public collections across the UK, Ireland, USA, Europe, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Japan, India, and Israel. He works in diverse media, including drawing, printmaking, painting, photography, film, and sculpture.
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Alan Flood aged 16
Pen on paper by Frank Perkiins |
Biographical details 1971 'City Close Up' Interview as a 19 year old student:
Jeremy Seabrook ISBN-10: 0713902221
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Painting Prue Leith in Lanzarote
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