Blakely was born in Canterbury in 1968 and developed an interest in art from an early age. He studied illustration at Wimbledon School of Art and completed his degree at Kingston University shortly after which he became a professional illustrator. During this time his clients included The Body Shop, British Telecom, and Cable and Wireless and he was chosen to paint two front covers for the world-renowned author of ‘Schindler’s List’, Thomas Keneally. At the same time, he and his wife Gail set up and curated their own shows in London, leading to a solo display in the Thomas Kettle Gallery in Covent Garden. The show, entitled ‘Do not Disturb’, explored genetic manipulation and its effects on its patients. The entire collection showed an increasing interest in physicality and lighting that were to become the hallmarks of his later work. It was acrylic that Blakely used for painting at this stage and throughout the first few years of his partnership with Washington Green, which he joined in 2005. Notably, it is his relationship with Gail that marked the first transformative phase of the style that has now seduced collectors worldwide. In the ‘Muse’ exhibition held at Halcyon Gallery at Harrods, Gail was the main protagonist in all 40 works. It is this uniquely aligned partnership between muse and artist that breathed a special sense of intimacy into the exhibition and brought new life to the genre of the painted nude. Judging by the reaction, it is something that is set to continue, inform and inspire his work, without end. Some years later, the transition to oils seemed inevitable and this too was to become another turning point in his distinctive style. When asked about how his work has changed so dramatically over recent years, Blakely says: “More than a preoccupation with the end result, it is a passion for the process itself that urges the work to evolve.” He believes that there is something primal and mystical about creating the illusion of a convincing vision on a once bare stretch of canvas. There is something elusive in painting that defies formula and the more it is practiced, the more is learned and the deeper an artist has to dig. Whether it is a children’s book, an advertising poster or a grand painting hanging in a museum, he ignores the idea of any hierarchy in art; the only important consideration is whether the work is meaningful or not.