.Born in 1933 in North West London, Brian Reifer (Neé Jones) attended Kilburn Grammar School before serving a five years Indentured Apprenticeship as a Mechanical Engineering Draughtsman with EMI Electronics. Two Years National Service from 1954-56 in REME as a Radar Mechanic saw him stationed in Gibraltar servicing coastal radar equipment on the top of the Rock. On his return to the UK he worked in the avionics industry for a number of years as a designer then moved into lighting design in 1971 where he studied for an MBA in business Management. with Thorn Lighting in London. Here he switched to Marketing and worked for a number of years as a Product Development Manager . Made redundant in 1987 he and his Partner opened Crane Galleries, an art gallery in Chichester and continued as art dealers until retirement and moving to Spain in 2002. From about 1988 Brian began writing as a freelance journalist. He wrote a regular column for the Chichester Observer as a Local Correspondent for The Witterings where he lived. Other outlets included The New Writer, The Expat Magazine and Reform, amongst others. He changed his name to Reifer in 1998 for personal reasons. If asked he will tell you that ‘Jones’ are two a penny but you do not get too many ‘Reifers’ to the pound.. Not true of course but the riposte serves. He has painted since the age of eight. He started as most do with the hardest medium of all, Watercolour but was introduced to oils at Grammar School and has used them ever since. However, he is a dedicated draughtsman and loves sketching and drawing in graphite and pastel pencil. Early in 2012 he extended his figurative drawing into portraiture, which now occupies much of his time. In oils he is known for his urban scenes and coastal waters and harbours. He exhibited widely throughout the South of England and London and was featured several times at the Llewellyn Alexander gallery’s ’Not the Royal Academy’ . Favourite artists include Constable, Delacroix, Greco, Titian and Turner among the Old Masters. Present day favourites include Bowyer, Dunstan, and Howard from the UK . Kasey Sealy is a firm Australian favourite along with Paul Howlett, while Tim Deibler is greatly admired from the US together with my favourite abstract artist from North Carolina, Gail Henderson. I must mention Daphne Todd. I love her no nonsense approach to portraiture. Her oils are superb but I think her drawings are wonderful examples of expressive figurative head studies. When it comes to literature I am interested in historical biography. A recent read, for example, has been the John Guy ‘Beckett’. Others that provide me with good reads range from the literary skills of the likes of Guy De Maupassant, Bogarde, Robb, Deighton, an underrated Adam Hall, Ian Rankin and, Auberon Waugh to name but a few. For pure escapism, Lee Child. Did I forget to mention Shakespeare, Milton, Keats and Shelley, et al? Brian Reifer www.brianreifer.com Contact him for more information via [email protected] or (0034) 645406804 0r (0034) 952505427 or Avda. de la Hispanidad 8-2-O 29700 Velez Malaga (Malaga) Espana