There are many tales of Alf's ingenuity. Not for him the luxury of prepared canvas.  He became educated in the art of marshalling the paraphernalia of the builder's yard and converting this into raw materials for the studio. Bits and pieces that to untrained eyes spelt rubbish were to him treasures to be carefully primed and used to produce the most wonderful paintings. His brushes were often made from the bristles of old shaving brushes and he was well-known for finishing a painting and immediately painting over it to enable him to use the board again

Having no formal training proved to be an advantage as he felt free to explore any subject which interested him, unfettered by any preconceived ideas.  He was fond of painting the backstreets and canals of the North of England but he could also produce colourful and true representations of anything he set his sights on. He refused to paint the 'chocolate box' subjects which he knew would be popular; choosing to stay true to what moved him at the time

.He would also paint vivid still-lifes, rural scenes and seascapes, with equal confidence and aplomb. He once saw a funfair when returning from his daughter's in the South of England and reproduced the image from memory. The resulting painting came on and off the sitting room wall, to be added to and altered as he recalled more and more of that scene

The long hours as a builder's labourer supported his wife and children but Alf's art sustained him. His sketchpad went everywhere with him. He would also take his paints and easel out into the streets of Oldham and paint in the street, usually attracting the attention of the local inhabitants. Daisy Nook was also a popular destination. His love of the Impressionists is obvious from his work but the life and vitality he brought to his paintings is entirely his own.

In 1987 he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease which meant he could no longer paint.  He became increasingly frail and unable to speak.   However, just two days before he died in 1988 he wrote down a request for pencils and sketchpad and, as his family left the hospital, he was sketching his companions in the ward

His paintings, those not given away or painted over, were stored in a cubby-hole in his home.  There were just 84 left to represent his life's work.

Before her death in 2001 his wife asked their son and daughter to try to bring these to the attention of other art lovers. They approached the Manchester Art Gallery, hoping they might take a painting to put on display. To their delight the Gallery immediately recognised Alf's natural talent and decided to hold a retrospective exhibition of his work. This was hugely successful, attended by over 100,000 people.  It caught the attention of the press and television and his work was finally appreciated by people all over the world.