Graham was born in 1963, and studied fine art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee. He graduated in 1988. 

Graham began his career as a traditional portrait painter, however, his work has now evolved to be dominate by the paint itself. Working in oils with his subject before him the artist does not allow the subject to dictate the progress of the painting. The finished picture is driven by the artists’ pleasure in the medium itself, the colour, texture and application of the paint.