 He later studied art at the Life School of the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh from 1894—1895.From 1895 to 1897, Strachan worked in Manchester as a black and white artist on several newspapers, and as a political cartoonist for the "Manchester Evening Chronicle".Strachan learned to work in stained glass in 1898—1899, while in Manchester, probably studying with Walter Williams, of the firm, Williams Brothers & Co., Chester, Manchester and London.. Strachan returned to Aberdeen after 1897 and worked as a mural and portrait painter.