Patrick Bradfield began by drawing birds and animals as a boy in Malawi, Central Africa. Patrick then attended Art College in Sussex, where he became interested in painting the human form. Travelling and painting provided an escape from normality and the chance to indulge his interests in prehistory, anthropology, culture and the environment. Africa was the natural place to turn to as he already had a deep attachment to the continent that first inspired him.
He travelled overland from Egypt through the vast dessert, savannas and swamps of the Sudan to the wilder parts of Kenya and the Indian Ocean, recording the people, tribes, cultures and scenery along the way. After 12 years of sketching, painting and keeping diaries, he had built up a large collection of observations and experiences that he continues to draw from.