Michael's work, characterised as expressive and often bordering on abstract, consistently incorporates the landscape in his impactful large-scale paintings. He utilises a vibrant array of mixed media, including oil, pencil, charcoal, pastels, and ink, to build a dynamic world of colour and light, layered with textures on canvas.
Regularly painting on location, Michael's palette is influenced by the immediate and bright colours of the landscape. The process of working outdoors impacts his compositions, making them more representative of the scene, while studio work tends to yield more abstract pieces. His preparatory process includes creating a portfolio of photographs and sketches, and committing the colours and light quality to memory before returning to his studio. Michael describes his work as a collage of different elements brought together to create one cohesive landscape.
Growing up on the Suffolk coast, Michael was deeply influenced by the ever-changing views of the North Sea. He later studied art and art history at the University of Lancaster. Despite his passion for painting, he initially pursued a corporate career, eventually becoming the Global Communication Director for an international firm based in Paris. This role involved extensive travel and engagement with a creative organisation, continuously feeding his artistic inspiration. Michael participated in the company's annual exhibition in Paris, which encouraged him to eventually leave the corporate world in 2010 to focus solely on painting—a decision he has never regretted.
Michael's work is held in private collections across Europe, the Middle East, the US, and Australia. He has also completed commissions for prestigious companies, including Risk Capital Partners, who display one of his paintings in their Mayfair boardroom. Now living in southwest France, Michael maintains strong ties with the UK and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 2014. His artistic journey reflects a blend of traditional techniques and modern influences, resulting in a unique and captivating body of work.
