After freelancing as a book and advertising illustrator in Scotland and later, London he moved to Canada in 1985. For ten years he worked as an independent illustrator in Vancouver’s Gastown district. In 1994 he decided to devote more time to painting and rented a studio at Kleewyk, North Vancouver, creating several very large paintings for a Japanese collector. On moving to Bowen Island in 1995, painting became a full time occupation and the Howe sound scenery featured in many works until 2009 when a temporary move to Scotland saw Ian painting and selling in three galleries there before returning to B.C., the part of the world closest to his heart. Ian has exhibited his art in the lower mainland, Vancouver Island, Whistler, Squamish and Vancouver . His paintings are found in corporate and private collections in Canada,U.K, Japan, Germany, Israel and USA, where he also designed a large mural in Dallas, Texas. He lives in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island.