Born in 1971, Allan studied illustration at Falmouth school of Art before gaining a BA Hons degree at Kingston University. His early inspiration was drawn from artists such as Sickert, Whistler, Hopper and Hockney. He worked as a freelance illustrator before travelling extensively in the Far East and Australia. Whilst working in a studio in St Ives he was also visiting lecturer at Falmouth School of Art. His painting is influenced by his many experiences of travel, although it is now the varying light and atmospheric conditions which he portrays so well in the landscapes and seascapes of the Cornish coast that are a reference for his current pieces of Rock, Daymer Bay and the surrounding countryside.