Born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in 1965, Douglas Gray began his professional artistic career as a poster designer for Athena International, but soon moved into the world of advertising, creating highly successful imagery for an impressive array of international clients including Pepsi, Universal and Warner Brothers Studios. Douglas later concentrated his efforts in two areas; jacket design for major book publishers and portraiture, which launched his entry into the world of fine art.

His portraits became sought after amongst celebrity collectors, and his growing reputation began to spread into the artistic community. Douglas now specializes in contemporary, metropolitan, figurative and marine paintings. He was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists RSMA in October 2011, and confirmed his reputation by winning the Winsor & Newton award for Best Oil Painting at their exhibition in the same year. Douglas also won the Russell & Chapple canvas prize at the RSMA in London 2012.

Douglas’s atmospheric interpretations of cityscapes and café life continue to seduce an international audience, and he has already acquired an impressive list of group and solo exhibitions. He is a regular exhibitor with the Royal Society of Marine Artists, the Royal Oil Painters Institute and the Royal Society of British Artists in London.