It is Gordon Couch's background as a boat restorer which is the catalyst for his painting. Born in Cornwall, he spent many years running his own boatyard business. He turned his attention to art in the early 2000s, initially as a watercolourist then developing an individual 'naive' style using oils, acrylics and mixed media to depict the fishermen he knew from his working life. He has exhibited at McAllister Thomas Fine Art in Surrey, and at Plymouth's Morley Gallery.

Couch is represented by the Tyler Gallery in Mousehole.