Mike grew up in Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, but has also lived in Oxford, Nottingham and Liverpool. He currently lives in South Wales where in some respects the landscape prevails. It’s a pretty down to earth culture which he appreciates, and a place where post industrialisation mingles with some stunning scenery. 

He tends to draw directly with a pen and a limited range of colours. He picked up drawing with a pen from architects when he was a student, enjoying its directness and simplicity. His use of the pen attracts him to certain types of view and subject, including the cliffs of the Glamorgan Coast and trees in winter.

Some of this work is “urban sketching”. These are drawings done on site for a few hours, with maybe some aspects finished later at home.  They tend to be dramatic views that combine buildings and landscape, and leading to a distinct sense of place.  Often these are places of personal attachment or interest.

His family are big cyclists . There is a link between slow travel and an appreciation of place and landscape.  Some of these drawings have taken quite a long time, and it is work that consciously and deliberately eschews the tendency for some art to be “knocked out” quickly.

The lack of people is also significant in some of his work, suggesting at a world in which nature appears to sometimes prevail.

You might also notice a tendency towards panoramas. Mike is interested in both sides of the street and the resulting qualities of the space between. He is interested in the wide landscape. This doesn’t sit so well with computer screens or social media, but so be it.

Mike appeared on Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the year early in 2025 where he drew the landscape near Llanberris, Gwynedd. They only give him four hours! You can see how he got on in the Landscape section.

Thanks for visiting.