Eric Bottomley was born in Oldham in 1948. He studied art and crafts at the Oldham School of Art, leaving in 1964 to pursue a career in commercial art. As a freelance artist and illustrator, he specialised in industrial and transport subjects. He set up a studio in Wimborne Minster and later, in 1979, became a member of the Guild of Railway Artists. In the 1980s, Eric moved to Much Marcle, Herefordshire, where he often painted the local scene and its industries. Eric has covered most forms of transport, producing work for private commissions and corporate customers. He now lives in South Devon, where he continues to paint and pursue his other great railway passion, that of modelling the railways and industrial scene of his youth, in 0 Gauge.
