A Scot, born in Ayrshire in 1936, Erni has been painting since childhood. Schooled at Ayr Grammar & Ayr Academy, much of his youth was spent with the fisher folk of West Scotland & their boats & he still cruises these waters each year

Erni trained at Glasgow School of Art, where he studied under Donaldson, Mathieson & Robertson. His work reflects their influences & those of the Scottish colourists who like him, spent much time in the wonderful light & colours of the West Coast. Painting in this tradition, he works with oils on canvas, using both brush & knife

In 1985, after many years in banking, he returned to Art & Design when he established an interior design company in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. He continued to work in oils, mainly commissions for corporate & private clients, but it was not until 1999, when the company was sold, that more time became available for painting

His work is successfully shown in many galleries in England, Scotland & abroad He has most recently exhibited in Istanbul where he was invited, as a result of commission work, to have a solo exhibition at the British Embassy, and a subsequent solo at one of the premier galleries in the city

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, London, in November 2004