British born Andrew Coates was just three when his family emigrated to Christchurch, New Zealand. The land of blue skies and amazing vistas was a major influence on the young artist, although, early on he was more interested in cubism than the refined landscapes he is now known for. Coates entered a number of art competitions where he was awarded first prize at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. He studied fine arts at Ilam.During this time, Andrew became the youngest Merit Member of the Canterbury Society of Arts (CSA) in New Zealand. He went on to hold three one man exhibitions at the CSA.

The inclusion of his work for the first time in the annual Summer Exhibition at the CSA brought the following review: Among the many oils and water colours are accomplished works by the young A.S. Coates which show his technical brilliance. In 1975 he held his last one-man exhibition at the CSA and then made preparations to send a large selection of his paintings to the UK. He left New Zealand in 1976 and travelled overland through Asia and Europe for the next four months. In 1989, Coates was awarded the Goldline prize for best landscape painting in the Mall Galleries Annual Exhibition in London. Coates now lives in Devon.

New Zealand, the people, the open way of life, freedom and the remarkable landscape, gave me the most wonderful childhood. It was full of adventure and opportunities but ultimately my painting had to take precedent - A Coates