Michael painted irregularly from 1988 onwards but since 2003 has painted almost daily. He is a member of Sutherland Shire Art Society
and, Southern Cross Art Group and Bankstown Art Society.

He sometimes paints “en plein air” with his fellow artists, but mostly in his home studio, “Kurrajong”. His favoured medium is “oil on canvas”,doing landscapes and seascapes but he also paints portraits and still life. He has completed a growing number of commissions including two large murals.

AWARDS
3rd place in the Sutherland Shire Arts Society (SSASI) Annual Art Exhibition 2011 for Portraits – “Jiawei Shen”.

1st place in the SSASI Annual Art Exhibition 2010 for Portraits – “Dave Manning, Artist”.

1st place in the Sutherland Shire Festival of Arts & Crafts 2007 Exhibition for Acrylics.

2nd place in the Waterbrook, Miranda Annual Art Exhibition 2010 - “Fire and Water”.

He judged the Sutherland Shire Festival of Arts & Crafts Exhibition
2009 (eleven categories).

His work has been hung at Sutherland Art Gallery, Art Gallery-
Kurnell and Timbertown Gallery at Wauchope. He exhibits in local
art shows and has sold over 160 paintings to date. In his use of
colour and style he aims to express his feelings about the Australian
landscape and the Australian way of life. He loves to capture iconic,
local features and everyday scenes such as those seen along the
railway line, that others pass by without noticing. Historic rural
subjects such as shearing sheds, grain silos, derelict farmhouses
and harvesting time are a recent interest. His style embraces both
the traditional and impressionist.
He was one of the inaugural cooperative of ten artists who set up
Art Gallery-Kurnell in 2008.

TUITION:
2010: National Art School - Summer School - Master Painting with Roger Crawford
2009: Paul McCarthy’s 3-day workshop concentrating on Paul’s special style.
2006: 3-day workshop on the impressionist method under John Corby.
2005: 3-day painting workshop at Merroo, Kurrajong under John Perkins and Paul McCarthy.
2004: Workshops by Graham Cox and Julie Goldspink at Laurieton, NSW.
2001: Cartooning course by correspondence. His sense of humour allows him to notice quirky little events and he has had several cartoons published in newspapers.
1988/9: His main training was at Gymea TAFE College, Sydney, where he completed a two-year part-time Certificate in Painting course.
1977: His very first “brush with oils” occurred when he attended painting classes at Newcastle TAFE College.

Early Days: Although as a young person he did not draw any more
than the average, he was very interested in photography. He took
the majority of the family photographs and also looked for special
effects in rural subjects and in structures such as bridges and
buildings. These photos were in black and white and were
developed and printed in the kitchen sink using a Kodak Home
Developing Kit. His artistic leanings also showed in the fact that he
made beautiful jewellery such as cuff links, tiepins, bracelets and
necklaces by copper enamelling and by lapidary.
He started experimenting with drawing and sketching techniques
while attending university for his Engineering and Science degrees
in the 1960s when he should have been studying. Later on he made
his own ‘home-made’ paper. He has written a children’s storybook,
a number of poems and is currently working on his autobiography.
He sells his Christmas cards each year based on one of his oil
paintings.

Ambition: His aim is to gain wider recognition as a Sydney artist.
He continues to sell regularly and is hung in a growing number of
homes both here and overseas.
He has been married to Lorraine since 1968 and has three grown up
children and four grandchildren.

You can visit his website at: www.australianartist.net

Last revised: 30 August 2011

At the easel

South Beach Walkway

Just a Glimpse

Sailing on Sydney Harbour

Fire and Water

The Esplanade, Cronulla