Artist's Statement:

Michael lives within ten minutes walk of the Exe Estuary and the adjacent South Devon coastline. This is one of the landscape subjects that has inspired him for many years, and still does. He tries to capture the light and atmospheric effects that he sees throughout the year.

Method of Working:

Michael usually works from sketches made on site. He often takes a Unison pastels colour chart, which he uses to annotate my sketches with colour references. He also use a digital camera for back-up information, and for detail that he may have omitted to record at the time. Michael paints in soft pastel on either pumice paper, solid-core mountboard, to which he applies a coloured pumice surface, Sennelier pastel card or Canson paper. He quite often makes an underpainting in pastel by blocking in all the main areas of colour and then dragging the applied pastel down with the side of my hand over the whole picture area. This creates a ghostlike image, and also has the effect of unifying the colour. He sometimes draws out my subject in charcoal. Michael usually has three or four paintings in progress at any one time.

Biographical Details:

1943 Born on 6th February, Clevedon, Somerset

2007 Elected Member of The Pastel Society

2008 Elected Honorary Treasurer of The Pastel Society

2016 Elected Vice President of The Pastel Society

Awards:

2004  Award at the South West Academy of Arts exhibition
2006  Sarah Samuels Fine Paintings Award
2007  Unison Pastels Award
2008  Bill Paterson Memorial Award
2009  Frank Herring Award
 

Articles:

2006  Art in Devon
2009  Artists magazine article
2010  Pratique des Arts feature article
2012  The Pastel Journal of America feature article

Group Exhibitions:

Michael has taken part in many group exhibitions, including the South West Academy , Walker Galleries Honiton, Great British Landscape Rosemoor RHS Gardens, Southampton City Art Gallery, Mercer Gallery Harrogate, Martins Gallery Cheltenham, Yvonne Arnaud Art 2009 Guildford, Frinton Gallery Essex, Picturecraft Gallery Norfolk and Gallery LeFort Bath.

Solo Exhibitions:

2001,2 and 8 Fred Keetch Gallery, Exmouth, Devon
2003   Higher Street Gallery, Dartmouth, Devon
2005 and 6  Walker Galleries, Honiton, Devon
2007   Walker Galleries, Sidbury Mill, Devon
2010   John Noott Gallery, Broadway, Worcs.
2011   Gallery LeFort, Bath
2013   Martins Gallery, Cheltenham.