Brian Shields and his sister Ann were born in Liverpool, purportedly in Kinder street wash house. Brian acquired the nickname 'Braaq' in his school days, on account of his artistic ability and the influence that the French artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries had on him as a boy, particularly Georges Braque, a misspelling then transformed Braque into Braaq. He was the fourth child of twelve and his father, Dennis, was an established artist. One of his brothers, also called Dennis, is a sculptor and painter based in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.

Brian held his first exhibition in 1974 and by 1977 was invited to hold four shows in London by a gentleman called Noël, to whom the artist owed a debt of gratitude, after he had exhibited his work over several years. This helped to establish him as a name in the capital and enabled him to become better known in the North of England galleries, in Harrogate, Leeds and the North East.

He was described by The Times as one of the six most successful artists in Britain. The Liverpool Echo also featured him in many of their issues, often comparing him to Manchester's Laurence Stephen Lowry.

In the late 1970s, tragedy struck and his sister Ann sadly died at the extremely young age of twenty. In memory of her, he regularly inscribed his pictures with her name and often included her in some of the paintings with himself wearing wellies and invariably his black and white striped cotton jumper, apparently this pullover was the only "new" item of clothing he ever remembered receiving as a young boy.

Most of his life was spent working as a trainee chef at a hotel in Harrogate. When some murals he painted to decorate the walls were discovered it caused quite a stir and for several weeks a search was undertaken with the help of the local newspapers to find out who had produced them. It is generally accepted now that the whole exercise was a great publicity stunt, which again helped to promote the up-and-coming painter. It is also said that he produced pub signs for local hostelries.

Although successful he was often faced with financial difficulties and was declared bankrupt towards the end of his career. He sadly died of a brain hemorrhage at the early age of forty-six. His works are now extremely popular and realize many tens of thousands, both in the salerooms and retail galleries.