Stephen Wild (1955-), Royal Ascot, 2008, signed, oil on board, 19 x 40.5cm.; 7.5 x 16in. * Stephen Wild was born in 1955 in Oldham, Lancs. His early years evidenced an innate talent for painting and drawing, though he received no formal art training. At about the age of thirty, he revived his early interest in painting and he gained a lot of experience under the tutelage of one of the North-West's best professional painters, John McCombs, a well-known and excellent tutor. The subjects favoured by Stephen are landscapes and figurative and these he treats with flat colour and precise linear brushwork He is a Member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts and has exhibited also at Manchester University, The Stockport Open and the Oldham Open Exhibitions. He is also a member of the Saddleworth and Lees group of artists.