Artist, notably a printmaker, and teacher whose work led him “to explore those areas of the urban environment which have fallen into disuse and where discarded articles of human use have been abandoned.” An example was his collograph print Wasteland Victim in Merseyside Artists 3, toured by Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, in 1986–7. Oakley studied at Stafford College of Art, 1952–6, then Leicester College of Art, 1958–9. Went on to teach at Edge Hill College of Higher Education, Ormskirk. Other appearances included Atkinson Art Gallery, Southport, 1984, Lancashire Open at Harris Art Gallery in Preston, 1985, and Hanover Galleries, Liverpool, 1986. Was for a time president of MAFA and lived in Southport, Merseyside.
Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)