He was the first full-time Malay artist who depended entirely on the sale of his paintings as a means of living. He was a self-taught artist from an artistically-inclined family. His brothers, Hassan, Kechik, Ahmad as well as Yusuf Bakar produced water colours of notable quality. One of his daughters Faridah, is a MARA trained graphic artist.

A.B. Ibrahim was one of the founder members of Persatuan Pelukis Melayu, which was based in Singapore. Other than Ibrahim, the North was also represented by Abdullah Ariff, Saidin Yahya and Idris Haji Sallam. He was well-known to the first generation of Kedah artist and his rare oil paintings as shown in the "Malacca Gate", a permanent collection of the National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur. His works are also represented at Kedah State Gallery and the Royal Museum, Alor Star. His painting's were featured in various local publications.