Born in Preston, Lancashire, educated at Kirkham Grammar School and subsequently at Manchester Regional College of Art and Blackpool Technical College and School of Art. Following National Service in the R.A.F., stationed in Cyprus,

 

Bob slowly migrated south from Blackpool having, there, for a number of years been responsible for the design of Blackpool illuminations. Following work in London as an exhibition designer he subsequently spent 20 years as a full time lecturer in painting, ceramics and exhibition design at Cassio College, Watford, finally arriving in Seaton with his wife Audrey in 1987 where for a number of years he taught Painting, ‘A’ Level Art and on the Access Course at St. Claire’s Adult Education Centre.

 

Bob painted in Watercolour along the World Heritage Coast, Dartmoor and further afield. He also built museum quality dolls house furniture. In 1998 he was awarded a fellowship of the International Guild of Miniature Artisans, becoming one of only a few craftsmen in the U.K. to gain this award. Audrey also created themed embroideries, both miniature and full size.

 

Before he passed away in 2020 Bob Bradshaw has painted and sketched along the East Devon and Dorset Jurassic Coast for almost 40 years, and now it has become England's first World Heritage Site representing 185 million years of earth history, joining the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef as one of the Wonders of the Natural World.

 

He said "I don't suppose that I will ever cover a fraction of all the aspects of light and atmosphere to be found in its 95 miles of coastal scenery, especially as Dartmoor, with all its mood, is also within easy reach! "Tempus fugit".

Bob Bradshaw