Michael Claxton - After Thoughts

Michael Claxton After Thoughts

 So, a month has passed since Michael Claxton’s first solo exhibition and now that the dust has settled, we thought we would have a post event review of how the whole show went.

 The lead up to this exhibition was an atmosphere of nervous anticipation. Not doubting the quality of Michael’s work, as it is for want of a better word, stunning, but more that it was Michael’s first.

Interest was keen on this Sheffield based artist with many of the St Albans locals popping into the gallery to find out a little bit more on the abstract seascapes adorning our windows in the weeks running up to the exhibition itself. Many asking;

“Who is this and can we see more?”

Michaels work leaning more to a tranquil and serene nature offers a feeling of peace that so many of us often need in our fast-paced lives and as many of our clients informed us, would be most welcome in their homes to help them relax and simply drift away into their new acquisition.

 The big day itself arrived much quicker than we expected, as with a week to go Danielle and myself were battening down the hatches to get the gallery for the entire collection of Michaels works to arrive. 46 in total to be precise! 2 days of solid rehanging, photographing and tidying up the gallery took their toll (see photo below) however once we had everything up the gallery looked fantastic.

With a very healthy turn out from the St Albans public and even those who had travelled a little further from afar, we were all very happy and especially Michael who was a little taken aback at the number of people all queuing up to ask him about his style and where he gets his inspiration from. Michael was on hand to explain about his inspirations from his visits to the Peak District and when he’s creating new pieces, he subconsciously draws upon sights and atmospheres of the places he’s visited and amalgamates several elements into his work. Ironically, Michael told us that he can create a larger piece much quicker than his smaller works as the perfectionist inside him comes out more.

Working predominantly with acrylic paints, it truly is remarkable to look upon the pieces Michael has created. Especially his blending for his skies and surfs. As any artist will tell you, when working with Acrylic, you need to be fast as the paint can dry so quickly and getting them to blend can be a nightmare. However, Michael manages to make it not only work, but to work very well! In the entire collection, there was one piece hiding amongst the acrylics that was created entirely with oils, presenting a fun challenge for the attendees to find without cheating and reading the labels beside each piece. See if you can pick it out of the small selection below.

If you spotted it straight away, congratulations! If you cheated and skipped ahead to this paragraph, shame on you!

Yes it’s the last one.