Michael’s
work has been described as expressive, bordering on abstract but with the
landscape ever present in his large-scales and impactful
paintings.
He works in a vibrant array of mixed media including oil,
pencil, charcoal, pastels and ink, building an expressive and vital world of
colour and light with multiple layers and textures on the
canvas.
He regularly paints on location, which influences
his palette because the colours of the landscape are so immediate and bright.
Working outside also has an impact on the final composition, with the piece
becoming more representative, whereas painting in the studio results in more
abstract work.
In preparation for each painting, Michael
creates a portfolio of photographs and sketches as well as committing the
colours and the quality of light to memory before returning to his studio. He
says: "My work is like a collage of different elements brought together
to create one landscape."
Michael grew up on the
Suffolk coast, citing the ever-changing views of the North Sea as a huge
influence on his young mind. He went on to study art and art history at the
University of Lancaster and although painting was a huge part of his life
from the beginning, he started to “reluctantly” climb the corporate ladder,
eventually becoming Global Communication Director for an international firm
based in Paris.
This high flying position involved
extensive travel, and the extremely creative organisation continuously fed
his mind with ideas and inspiration that were grist to his creative mill.
Every year the company hosted an exhibition in Paris which Michael
participated in, and in 2010, he decided the time had come to quit corporate
life and focus full time on painting. He has never looked
back.
Michael’s work hangs in private collections in
Europe, The Middle East, The US and Australia and he has undertaken
commissions for many prestigious companies, notably Risk Capital Partners who
have one of his paintings hanging in the boardroom of their corporate office
in Mayfair. Living in south west France, Michael has retained strong links
with the UK and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in
2014.
