I don't remember when I first began to draw, although I did produce large battle scenes at junior school, full of Tanks and Aeroplanes (the drawings, not the school) which I would then blow up by scribbling all over them.
Whilst at secondary school I was praised for my drawings in science lessons which made me realise that I was perhaps a bit better than average at art.
Being a shy child, I spent a lot of time drawing and developing a good (some would say warped) imagination.
Copying photographs from books in pencil taught me a lot about shading and how light falls on objects. Painting started to interest me later in my school years and whilst attending college I discovered Gouache, which seemed to suit my style of painting and I was also trained to use an Airbrush (and a comb).
I qualified as a Technical Illustrator and have mainly worked in that field since but have always painted for a hobby.