27.07.2012 12:48:01

Michael was born in Southend-on-Sea Essex on 22nd February 1976. The

second son of the British landscape artist, David Smith. In stark contrast to

his father’s early life, for as far back as Michael can remember, he was

immersed and surrounded by artistic endeavour as his father worked in his

studio and often when seeking inspiration and scenes for his paintings, he

would take Michael on trips to the countryside, into areas of outstanding

natural beauty. A young boy walking the hills and dales of Britain with vistas

seldom seen by most, has left him with a deep and abiding love of this

country from where his artistic talent was to emerge and blossom.

Throughout his school days, Michael excelled in drawing, painting and

other art-related subjects. At the age of seventeen, he achieved a place at

the Southend College of Art and Technology to pursue his initial desire to

train as an architect. When in 1993, quite by chance, he decided to attend

one of his father’s exhibitions at Harrods Picture Gallery to witness, at

first hand, the response from the public, the respect, admiration, pleasure

and delight expressed by strangers to his father’s paintings, changed

Michael’s viewpoint and the realisation dawned that dear old Dad was

indeed a Master.

During the following two years at college, Michael began to identify more

strongly with the idea of becoming a professional artist having identified the

genre he wished to pursue quite naturally, ‘landscape art’.This idea not being

met with much enthusiasm from his father who wanted him to complete his

studies having been denied the opportunity when he was a young man.

However, being a realist, he relented allowing Michael to set up his easel

alongside his in the studio and to cut his first professional canvas at the age of

nineteen. Michael’s first painting was completed in four weeks. A local gallery accepted

it on sale or return and before he arrived home from the gallery, it was sold.

This initial success was followed when shortly after a gallery in

Leatherhead, Surrey agreed to display some of Michael’s works. Within a few

weeks the gallery began to purchase all of his paintings as demand began to

outstrip supply. This has been a continuing aspect throughout his highly

successful career with an ever-increasing international client base with over

half of his annual output being sold in the U.S.A. His

contemporaries, appreciative clients are aware he is on track to become one of

Britain’s foremost landscape artists One of the most striking features of Michael’s work, as he strives to impart the

rich colours of the British countryside onto canvas, is the unique detail present

in each painting, often featuring a lowland stream, its glassy reflection an

indication of Michael’s ability for intense observation.