Colin was born in Dunedin in 1919. He taught art at Waitaki Boys High School until 1969 when he commenced painting full time and producing books.

He trained first at the Canterbury School of Art and then at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in London.

His favourite subject matter includes buildings, the landscape and related activities and his well-known books chronicling the old sheep stations of New Zealand reflect this interest. These books were commissioned by the publisher A.H. and A.W. Reed. The research for these became both a labour of love and an odyssey with both he and his wife travelling for up to twelve months at a time, staying at the old homesteads that he portrayed.

His work has been keenly collected throughout the six decades that he has been painting and is exhibited in numerous public and private collections throughout New Zealand as well as abroad.