David Shepherd attended Stowe School in Buckinghamshire which was established in the Christian faith as required by the Church of England back in the 20th century. Upon graduation, Shepherd travelled to Kenya, Africa in hopes of fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a game warden, but he was turned away as there was no position available for him. With his dreams shattered, Shepherd was at his wit’s end, so he took on a job as a hotel receptionist in Malindi, along the coast of Kenya, and drew a meagre salary of one pound a week. During this time, he did more bird paintings on plasterboard and sold them for a small sum of £10 to earn just enough for a ride home to England on board a Union Castle steamship.
Photo by Norman Middlemiss
Returning home penniless and jobless, Shepherd considered two career paths which were either to become an artist or a bus driver. Initially, he was leaning towards becoming a bus driver as it seemed like the safer option because he had heard of horror stories about artists who suffered and toiled just to make ends meet. The thought of starving in a cold garret made him shudder.
However, Shepherd’s father encouraged him to pursue his art and so he sent in his first bird painting to the Slade School of Fine Art in London where he was promptly rejected. With harsh criticisms from the school that he was talentless and not worth teaching echoing in his mind, Shepherd was close to giving up on his art when a chance meeting with Robin Goodwin during a cocktail party changed his luck for the better. Goodwin was prolific painter who specialised in portraits and maritime art and was known for his aversion to traineeship and taking in students. Despite this, Goodwin made an exception for Shepherd and trained him for three years.
Graphic by Evangeline