About the artist and author
Mervyn Finch MBE was born in Wolverhampton, England, on the 16th November 1951. One of fourteen siblings born to Fred and Mercia Finch. Merv demonstrated a keen interest and a natural ability in artwork from an early age. He received no formal art training or education apart from seeing and interpreting life through his own eyes.

Merv ’plodded’ through primary and secondary school education until he finally left the gates of Wobaston Secondary Modern School, Fordhouses, at the age of fifteen to find work. He spent three years as a trainee Carpenter before doing something he'd always wanted to do, and that was sign up for service in the British Army's - Royal Corps of Signals.

He spent twenty two years serving in the colours; initially as a Telegraph Operator and then later becoming a Yeoman of Signals. He had a successful army career, where he attained the rank of Warrant Officer Class One, and was awarded the prestigious "Member of the British Empire" (MBE) medal by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 for his hard work and dedication to duty while serving as a Permanent Staff Instructor with The Honourable Artillery Company, of London.

During the early part of his army career he took up painting, sculpting and general artwork as a hobby. It was while he was in the army that he received his first paying art commission. Word soon got around and before long his work was in demand. He was commissioned to do paintings and murals by paying customers. In particular, his murals were sought after by Regimental Mess’s for seasonal functions. Since retiring from the army he has done mural paintings and fine artwork for Corporate institutions and private clients.

Merv now lives overseas in Canada with his immediate family, where they have just attained citizenship.He runs his own company; Course We Can Limited, which is an Instructional Design, Development and Delivery service organization. Please feel free to visit the company web page at; www.course-we-can.com. For those training specialists out there, take a look at the outstanding Learning Content Management System application Merv has invented (Course We Can Constructor).

In addition to his business and artwork, Merv is now pursuing a promising career in writing. He has already completed the first part of a autobiographical trilogy and finished two fictional thrillers. For more information on his story telling skills, see the "Authoring Page" of this web site.

Merv is also the current illustrator for the Children’s author; Lesley Anne Airth. Who wrote “Cameron's Capital Adventure” and “A Gift From Graham.” And more recently, a Canadian best seller, "What We Remember"; an illustrated, educational book for children about remembrance and how conflict has affected children over the years. (see the "Book Illustrations" page and the lower photo to the left for Merv working on the cover of the book)).