Email David Thorp

David Thorp was born and raised in Ruthin, Denbighshire, North Wales UK. His talent for art became apparent to many people when, in 1940 at the age of seven, he won a competition in the primary school which he was attending to produce a poster about the Battle of Britain. His winning poster - for which the first prize was 10/- (ten shillings, or 50p) a goodly sum in 1940 - featured a dramatic picture of a Spitfire shooting down a dreaded Messerschmitt 109. After graduating to the Ruthin County Grammar School he went on to the Wrexham Art School for general Art Studies, and later to the Central School of Art in Southampton Row, London, where he studied Industrial Design.

On finishing his studies at Central School, he was interviewed by staff from Ford Motor Company who were looking for motor car Body Stylists, and in 1954 started his first job at the Ford Styling Department in Dagenham, Essex, (then known as Briggs Motor Bodies) at a salary of £600 per annum. After working at Fords for several years, and a diversion into the world of designing Glassfiber car bodies, David finished up in the Midlands working as an Industrial Designer to the Plastics Industry, where he was instrumental in introducing plastic bottle crates to the UK, where, up until 1962 all crates were traditionally made of wood or metal.

All good things come to an end, and the company for whom David was working ran out of money and had to close. It was the start of one of the post-war recessions, and jobs were becoming scarce. David was eventually forced to go into the sales side of the plastics Industry. In 1970 the Dutch chemical giant DSM headhunted him and asked him to set up their UK sales office in Dudley West Midlands, where he operated as a Sales Manager for their Plastics raw materials.

Early retirement in 1986 gave David the opportunity to get back to painting, and having returned to Ruthin, North Wales, to live, was able to set up his own studio at his home. After the death of his wife in 1994, David eventually re-married and moved to Spain, where he and Olwen now live in Catalunya.

He now takes commissions on any subject, but prefers to specialise in subjects with a military flavour, finding that the research on such projects very stimulating, and often gives him the opportunity to talk to veterans of various conflicts who have both fascinating and moving stories to tell. If you are interested in commissioning David, or obtaining prints of his paintings, please email him using the link below. Please mention the Assault Glider Trust as David is a supporter of the project

Email David Thorp