about | My Site

Mike Duckering was born in Nottingham and moved to Devon as a young boy. He first studied architecture at the University of Bath under Professor Ken Smithies, a renowned pioneer of modern architectural design theory. After graduating he worked for many years as an architect in Bristol, establishing his own practice in 1986. Art has been an ongoing interest, and after retiring from architecture, he went on to study art at the University of Gloucestershire, gaining a BA Fine Art degree in 2013. Mike is co-founder of the thriving Lansdown Art Studios in Cheltenham, where he has a studio. His work has been exhibited and sold at a number of galleries and exhibitions, including Hadfield Fine Art, Sevenhampton; Lime Tree Gallery, Bristol; Little Buckland Gallery, Broadway; the Affordable Art Fair and Bristol's Royal West of England Academy. His work is held in private collections in the UK, USA, Canada and France.

STATEMENT

"The primary focus of my work is the perception of people and place; from people and places that I know, to those met and remembered from my travels. I seek to explore and develop my own visual interpretation and mark making, which can vary from a loose abstract reality to the wholly graphic. My work often begins as a detailed pencil drawing made directly onto the board or canvas, and whilst the ultimate image may bear little or no resemblance to this starting point, it remains a meaningful part of the final work. The subject matter is often the Cheltenham locality, and also Bristol, where I lived and worked for many years. Other sources of inspiration come from trips abroad, where the experience of different cultures provides stimulating opportunities for new work. The energy in my work reflects the strong emotional relationship that exists between people and their environment - the spiritual and innate bond to landscape and buildings that is the essence of place."

Mike Duckering

Winter Sun Montpellier (2017), oil on board, 30 x 30

TESTIMONIAL

I first discovered Mike’s paintings at his degree show in June 2013 and bought one on the spot. His work stood out in its composition, execution and use of colour. It wasn’t a surprise to learn that Mike had been an architect before his decision to pursue a Fine Art degree. His works are quite expressive and built up with layers of paint, but there is a solidity and precision in the composition. Somehow I knew that under all that paint, there was someone with great draughtsmanship and who was serious about his practice. Mike’s paintings are very much rooted to a particular place; not the usual visual representation of a location, but more his own response to it. Thus, scenes of Cheltenham or Bristol which are familiar to him, come to look dreamy and elevated with atmosphere, in the way that Venice is often romanticised.

I have talked to many people about Mike’s work over the years. People seem to understand his sense of place and the feeling around it, whether it be optimistic or nostalgic. They respond to his tonal use of colour with little bursts of yellow or red underneath, even when the image has been pared down to the minimum. They appreciate the creativity, thought and interpretation which make his paintings so unique in today’s culture of digital and repetitive imagery.

Sally Coelho, Hadfield Fine Art