Born in the mid 1960s in the Lancashire mill town of Ramsbottom, the young Robin Sharples grew up surrounded by the remnants of the once proud textile industry.

Captivated by the crumbling stone cotton mills the gaunt smoke blackened chimneys and row upon row of terraced millworkers cottages clinging to the steep slopes of the Rossendale Valley, the sights sounds and smells were indelibly etched on the young mans consciousness.

From the thunder of last remaining weaving sheds, the heat from the firehole of the old Croft bleachworks at Stubbins and the dry distinctive smell of cotton and mineral oil in the mule spinning rooms of Cobden Street Mill overlaced with the heady aromas of acrid yellow coal smoke issuing from the few remaining mill chimney stacks, this childhood was truly a delight.

Following a variety of occupations including blacksmith, welder, truck driver and managing director of a property company and undergoing three kidney transplant operations, Robin decided to indulge his creative passion and take up oil and watercolour painting.

Taking inspiration from the great northern mill town artists such as Lowry, Grimshaw and Reg Gardner, Robin aspires to develop his own individual style and technique. Robin is completely self taught and since 2007 he has concentrated on creating a vivid portrayal of the nostalgic scenes of his youth and is now in great demand for his evocative interpretations of the northern mill-scapes of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Robin has undertaken several commissions to produce illustrations for a series of Industrial Heritage books including the new Fred Dibnah book, "Fred Dibnahs Chimney Drops" and the best selling, “Historic Steam Boiler Explosions”
by respected author and publisher, Alan McEwen.
www.sledgehammerengineeringpress.co.uk