Andrew Coates studied Painting and Lithography at Batley School of Art under Robert Lee, and in 1964 moved to Birmingham to train as an art teacher. His final decade in Education was spent as: Head of Creative Arts at Westhill College, Birmingham; Adviser for the Visual Arts at the University of Birmingham School of Continuing Studies; and as a lecturer in Education Studies at the University of Warwick.
He has exhibited widely in group and solo shows, including Coventry, Ilkley, Middlesbrough, Walsall and Worcester Art Galleries, Leeds Art Fair and the IKON Gallery. Andrew works with his wife, Elizabeth, writing and publishing articles centred on young children’s drawings and language development; and makes relief and free standing, often coloured, assembled sculpture and painting/collages. These are made from manufactured and natural objects as symbolic equivalents for experiences, and are obtained from junk and charity shops and collected in the environment.
