(born 1937) spent 27 years with a commercial art studio before leaving to paint full-time. He was elected to the Society of Wildlife Artists in 1980, which holds its annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London every autumn.

Although he prefers working in watercolour, Michael also uses acrylic, pastels and scraperboard. He is a member of the Croydon Art Society, which holds spring and autumn exhibitions at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, and currently has work on display in many private art galleries in the south of England.

Over the years, Michael’s work has appeared on many magazine covers and calendars and has also gained international recognition – in 1987, Michael won the World Wildlife Fund for Nature Fine Art Award for his watercolour ‘Amur Tiger’.

Private commissions have formed a large part of Michael’s work. Customers include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman, who commissioned four watercolours of Arabian mammals, and John Aspinall, the late founder of Howletts and Port Lympne wild animal parks, for whom Michael painted many big cats.