[2] He was born in Stratford, New Zealand and studied at Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland.
After graduating in the early 1960s, Percy worked as an illustrator for the New Zealand School Journal and collaborated with other Auckland-based writers and artists.
[3] During this period he designed covers for The End of the Golden Weather and The Pohutukawa Tree by Bruce Mason.
In 2007, a further series of his drawings for adults, 'Imagined Histories' was published, supported by the Scottish Arts Council.
It was developed in partnership between City Gallery Wellington and Gus Fisher Gallery, The University of Auckland; it was curated by Gregory O'Brien, leading New Zealand poet, art critic and curator and winner of the 2012 Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement.