Alex Russell Flint's paintings are the perfect mix of modernity and tradition

In this strange old world it is often the case that we owe a ridiculous amount to chance. After all, Cornflakes were discovered purely by accident (true story) and as my trusty staple to the daily trauma that is getting up, it doesn’t even bear to imagine a world without them.

It is the same old story for talented artist Alex Russell Flint who after a stint at a tiny illustration school and in a what-on-earth-do-I-do-now sort of patch of his life randomly stumbled upon a postcard of one of Ted James’ paintings. Duly inspired, his 20-year-old self packed his bags enrolled himself at Ted’s art school and headed to a tiny village in France – the rest is pretty much history!

Flourishing from that day into a pretty spectacular artist, Alex now specialises in grand oil paintings. With moody sweeping colour tones and focusing on the female form, his portraits combine the modern looking subjects with classic and traditional associations. And with his work recently showcased at London’s Horsebox Gallery, we bet we won’t be the only ones glad of his chance encounter with that little postcard….