Alan Bourne was born and grew up in Surrey. Initially he studied both art and music and later he studied for a degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. For 25 years he worked as an orchestral musician and later taught at the Leeds College of Music where he was appointed head of wind studies. He also undertook work as an examiner for the Royal Schools of Music London. Throughout this period he continued to paint but for the past 15 years he has reduced these musical commitments significantly in order to pursue an artistic career. He has exhibited widely in the South West and is currently a member of the Plymouth Society of Artists. In 2012 he was first prize winner of the South West Academy Lionel Aggett award.

The paintings mostly relate to landscape and still life but also reflect altered states of mind when listening to a particular piece of music. Although abstract, the work refers strongly to a sense of place, offering brief references to trees, rivers and other features which define the character and mood present. Although photographs and sketches are important, the painting is rarely executed directly but developed later in the studio where colour is used to reflect the essence and feeling experienced at a given moment of time.