1987 Le Mans | Porsche 962 | Derek Bell | Print

In 1984 Graham Turner made the decision to go freelance and in that time he has built up a strong reputation for his paintings and prints amongst collectors worldwide. Born in 1964, as the son of Michael Turner he was obviously immersed in an atmosphere of art and motor racing from an early age, but it wasn`t until he was 16 that he developed a desire to embark on a similar career to his father. Despite the best efforts of a career adviser to persuade him otherwise, Graham was determined to follow this path and enrolled on a course in Art & Design at Amersham College. Two years working for a London design studio followed, before the decision to go it alone at the age of 20.

It was probably inevitable that Graham would find himself drawn towards the world of motor racing as an inspiration for his work and so it proved, with the first ten years of his freelance career spent almost entirely painting racing cars from all eras of the sport, for clients including drivers, teams and sponsors, as well as enthusiasts and collectors keen to record their racing memories.

In those early years Graham also competed as a rally driver, gaining the all-important first-hand experiences that give his work that additional realism, a philosophy that would later see him take up jousting in his bid to really understand his medieval subject matter.

He still retains a deep love for motor racing, and continues to paint dramatic scenes from the sport's history. However, realising the need to establish his own separate identity, not easy when following his father's footsteps so closely, he decided to forge his own path and branched out into a completely different sphere, a subject that had fascinated him since childhood - medieval history.