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About MikeMike is a professional artist, tutor and article writer based in Hertfordshire, UK.
His style of painting is a mixture of traditional and expressive techniques using a variety of mediums, including watercolour, acrylic and oils. He demonstrates and runs workshops locally for art societies and education centres, details of which can be found on his Events page. Mike's work has also been featured in several magazines, including 'Leisure Painter' magazine, to which he is a regular contributor of articles. Influences: Born in West Yorkshire, he grew up surrounded by rugged moorlands and was fascinated by the works of the Brontës and Ted Hughes. Subconsciously, his eye has been coloured ever since by a legacy of grit- stone buildings and stark beauty. Mike's painting influences are diverse and include a love of Gainsborough’s loose pastorals, John Martin's Biblical skies and Monet's observations of colour. However, he's just as likely to be inspired by movies or music! Trained as a scenic designer, Mike often visualises the subject as a stage set, open to rearrangement for dramatic purposes. He rarely paints a location exactly as he finds it, preferring to alter weather, lighting or viewpoint to suggest an alternate narrative. With a background in heritage, Mike is particularly drawn to places where the past seems to bleed into the present; where the boundaries of time are thinly veiled. |
Education:
2016 - Focus Level 3 Award in Education & Training (RQF)
1989 - 92 UCE in Birmingham - BA (Hons) Theatre Design
1988 - 89 Huddersfield Polytechnic - Foundation Diploma in Art & Design
2016 - Focus Level 3 Award in Education & Training (RQF)
1989 - 92 UCE in Birmingham - BA (Hons) Theatre Design
1988 - 89 Huddersfield Polytechnic - Foundation Diploma in Art & Design
Awards:
2022 - British Art Prize 2022 Finalist (A&I magazine)
2021 - Sponsor's Award (Consensus HR) at the Big Art Fair, Hitchin
2018 - 'The Artist Magazine' TALP Open Finalist
2017 - 'The Artist Magazine' TALP Open Finalist
incl. 'St Cuthberts Mill Award'
Exhibitions:
2020 - 26 - Group exhibitions at The Wynd Gallery, Letchworth G.C.
2025 - Broadway Open Exhibition, Broadway Gallery, Letchworth G.C.
2024 - Solo show 'Strange Land' at the Wynd Gallery Letchworth G.C.
2024 - Artist of the Month, solo exhibition at The Broadway Gallery, Letchworth G.C.
2023 - 'Samarivans' charity group show at Arkley Fine Art, Hitchin
2023/22/21 - Big Art Fair at Hitchin Town Hall
2022 - British Art Prize 22 at Oxo Tower Wharf, Southbank, London (A&I magazine)
2022 - Broadway Open Exhibition, Broadway Gallery, Letchworth G.C.
2020 - HVA Spring Group Exhibition - New Maynard Gallery, Welwyn Garden City
2019 - Group exhibition Baldock 4 at the old Town Hall, Baldock, Herts - (Herts Open Studios)
- Exhibitor at Patchings Art Festival, Notts.
2018 - 'The Artist Magazine' Open Exhibition, Patchings Art Centre, Notts
- Stotfold Watermill Summer Exhibition, Beds
2018/17/16/15/14 - Ayot St Lawrence Art Show, Herts
2017 - Herts Open Studios, Hitchin, Herts
- 'The Artist Magazine' Open Exhibition, Patchings Art Centre, Notts
- HVA Spring Group Exhibition - New Maynard Gallery, Welwyn Garden City
- 'Living Crafts' HVA Stand, Hatfield House, Herts
2016 - Artist-in-residence, Herts Open Studios, Baldock Arts Centre
- 'Up Your Street' Group Show - The Artnest, Hitchin, Herts
2015 - 'Horizons' Group Show - Nude Tin Can Gallery, St. Albans
2013 - Solo Show - Letchworth Arts Centre, Letchworth Garden City, Herts
- Copperbeech Art Gallery, Little Wymondley, Herts
- Group Show - Hitchin Town Trail, Hitchin, Herts
2005 - Solo Show - The Radlett Centre, Radlett, Herts
2004 - Solo Show - Questors Theatre, Ealing, West London
Member:
Society For All Artists and Herts Visual Arts
Publications:
Leisure Painter Magazine - 25 plus articles since 2019
'Samarivans' charity exhibition book
Hertfordshire Life - Feb 2018
The Artist magazine - Oct 2017
TV:
'Wildcard' participant in Sky Arts 'Landscape Artist Of The Year 2016 and 2017'
2022 - British Art Prize 2022 Finalist (A&I magazine)
2021 - Sponsor's Award (Consensus HR) at the Big Art Fair, Hitchin
2018 - 'The Artist Magazine' TALP Open Finalist
2017 - 'The Artist Magazine' TALP Open Finalist
incl. 'St Cuthberts Mill Award'
Exhibitions:
2020 - 26 - Group exhibitions at The Wynd Gallery, Letchworth G.C.
2025 - Broadway Open Exhibition, Broadway Gallery, Letchworth G.C.
2024 - Solo show 'Strange Land' at the Wynd Gallery Letchworth G.C.
2024 - Artist of the Month, solo exhibition at The Broadway Gallery, Letchworth G.C.
2023 - 'Samarivans' charity group show at Arkley Fine Art, Hitchin
2023/22/21 - Big Art Fair at Hitchin Town Hall
2022 - British Art Prize 22 at Oxo Tower Wharf, Southbank, London (A&I magazine)
2022 - Broadway Open Exhibition, Broadway Gallery, Letchworth G.C.
2020 - HVA Spring Group Exhibition - New Maynard Gallery, Welwyn Garden City
2019 - Group exhibition Baldock 4 at the old Town Hall, Baldock, Herts - (Herts Open Studios)
- Exhibitor at Patchings Art Festival, Notts.
2018 - 'The Artist Magazine' Open Exhibition, Patchings Art Centre, Notts
- Stotfold Watermill Summer Exhibition, Beds
2018/17/16/15/14 - Ayot St Lawrence Art Show, Herts
2017 - Herts Open Studios, Hitchin, Herts
- 'The Artist Magazine' Open Exhibition, Patchings Art Centre, Notts
- HVA Spring Group Exhibition - New Maynard Gallery, Welwyn Garden City
- 'Living Crafts' HVA Stand, Hatfield House, Herts
2016 - Artist-in-residence, Herts Open Studios, Baldock Arts Centre
- 'Up Your Street' Group Show - The Artnest, Hitchin, Herts
2015 - 'Horizons' Group Show - Nude Tin Can Gallery, St. Albans
2013 - Solo Show - Letchworth Arts Centre, Letchworth Garden City, Herts
- Copperbeech Art Gallery, Little Wymondley, Herts
- Group Show - Hitchin Town Trail, Hitchin, Herts
2005 - Solo Show - The Radlett Centre, Radlett, Herts
2004 - Solo Show - Questors Theatre, Ealing, West London
Member:
Society For All Artists and Herts Visual Arts
Publications:
Leisure Painter Magazine - 25 plus articles since 2019
'Samarivans' charity exhibition book
Hertfordshire Life - Feb 2018
The Artist magazine - Oct 2017
TV:
'Wildcard' participant in Sky Arts 'Landscape Artist Of The Year 2016 and 2017'