Born in Wetherby in Yorkshire, Douglas studied illustration first at Scarborough College then later at Doncaster College of Art. He began his career as a poster designer with Athena International before being lured into the world of advertising where he forged a highly successful career working for an impressive away of international clients notably Pepsi, Universal Studios, Hershey and Nestle. Eventually Douglas began to specialise in book illustration and portraiture, his paintings have adorned the covers of works published by Hodder & Stoughton, Corgi and Pan Macmillian. As a caricaturist he worked for Warner Bros illustrating Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood and depicted the Spice Girls for the Royal Mail and National Westminster Bank.
After reaching the peak of his profession Douglas began to find the ‘working to order’ aspect of commission based art creatively stifling. For the last fifteen years he has built an international reputation as a fine artist specializing in figurative works, highly narrative in nature, that draw on his talent for depicting the human form. His studio on the Yorkshire coast affords him the most dramatic panorama to the sea and a unique natural light that inspires much of his distinctive chiaroscuro work. Douglas’ paintings have a wide appeal and are collected by such diverse personalities as the politician William Hague and the musician Captain Sensible. He has exhibited at Castle Howard, the Royal Society British Artists, the Royal Institute of Painters in Oil, the Royal society of Marine Artists and a number of commercial galleries in York and London.
