A prolific painter and poet, Durrant was born on 4th October 1925 and raised in Lavenham, Suffolk. He began drawing aged 5 and exhibited his first painting in Bury St. Edmunds at the age of 12. From 1948 to 1952 he studied at the Camberwell School of Art. He had his first one-man show at the Guildhall, Lavenham in the late 1940's, and continued to exhibit regularly at the Royal Academy, Beaux-Arts, Loggia Gallery and Belgrave Gallery, London annually throughout his life, including over 38 one-man shows. He was a fellow of the 'Free Painters & Sculptors Society', and a member of the 'New English Art Club'.
He lived in Chelsea during the 1950's, before moving to Cambridge. His work is held in numerous private and public collections including The Tate Gallery Collection, the Imperial War Museum, the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the Gallery of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro.