Artist Of The Day: Michael Morgan - Watercolour Genius.....

 

 

Artist:

Michael Morgan RI SWAc

About the artist:

HOME: East Devon BACKGROUND AND TECHNIQUE Michael Morgan has had two highly successful careers. Firstly in academia where he became the Principal of the Froebel Institute and founding trustee of the American University in London. Secondly he turned his attention to his early love of painting. Working with the watercolour medium it is no exaggeration to say that he injected new life and structure into the medium producing small but powerful studies of isolated landscapes mostly in Britain, but also in Tuscany. His work is defined by isolated finely observed buildings set in a backdrop of hill and sky with an intensely worked foreground drawing the eye to the distant building all depicted with complex tonality and inventive structure. SUCCESS Michael’s work caught the art world’s imagination. He was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) and was a founding academician of the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts (SWAc). Marine House has been his appointed gallery for 15 years in which time we have hosted many sell out solo shows and the body of collectors enthusiastic about this unique work has grown and grown. COMMENT Sadly in 2012 Michael became unwell and is unlikely to enhance our lives with further new work. Marine House remains the centre for his work where we offer paintings reacquired from collectors from time to time as well as producing limited edition prints of some of this best loved paintings. A new book called “The Road Less Travelled” is available celebrating his life and work.

Society Membership:

 

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours

 

Other Society Memberships:

 

South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts
 

Biographical details:

1928 Born on 2nd June
Career in teaching and educational administration: Teacher, Headmaster, College Lecturer in early Childhood Studies, later Principal and Chief Officer of the Froebel Institute, London
Founding Trustee of Richmond, the American International University in London Trustee of the Prospera Language Institute, Shiziuoka-Shi, Japan
Trustee Emeritus of New England College, New Hampshire, USA
One-time Chairman of the Richmond Foundation, London
President of the Honiton Art Society
1985 Retired from teaching to take up a second career as a painter in watercolours
2000 Elected member of the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts

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Artist's statement:

I am self-taught having been inspired by the late John Blockley RI and Ernst Gombrich the Art Historian. I like to think that the images I paint tell their own story for the viewer to unravel. Like Gustav Klimt I believe that anyone who wants to find out about me - as an artist, which is all that is of interest - should look attentively at my paintings.

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Exhibitions:

1998/2000/02/04/06/08 Marine House at Beer, Devon
1996-2008 Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, Mall Galleries
Amalgam Gallery, London
Gordon Hepworth Gallery, Exeter
The Rural Life Museum, Somerset
The Devon and Exeter Arts Centre, Exeter

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Method of working:

My paintings tell their own story for the viewer to unravel.

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Scholarships, Awards, Prizes:

2001 Rowland Hilder Award for Landscape Paintings, Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours
1998 Medal of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours

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Publications:

‘A Picture of Devon’, Ray Balkwall, Halsgrove 2008
‘80@80. The Paintings of Michael Morgan RI’, Michael Morgan, Halstar, 2008
‘Watercolour Innovations’, J. Simmonds, Harpercollins, 2005
‘Michael Morgan RI’, Michael Morgan, Halsgrove, 2004, (2nd edition, 2006)
‘Art in Devon’ Magazine, 2005/06/07
‘Leisure Painter’ Magazine, 2005
‘Artists and Illustrators’ Magazine, 2005/06
‘Composition’ and ‘Painting in Watercolour’, Eaglemoss International, 2003
‘Capturing Texture’, Michael Warr, Quarto Books, 2002
‘Dartmoor Artist’, Brian le Messurier, Halsgrove, 2002
‘International Artist’ Magazine, Elladrent, 2002/03/05
‘Galleries’ Magazine, 2000/08
‘Contemporary Art’, Alan & Bartram Ltd., 1997/98/2008
‘Art Review’ Magazine, 1999
‘The Artist’ Magazine, 1992/93