Mike Bernard was born in Kent in 1957 and trained at the West Surrey College of Art & Design in Farnham followed by Post Graduate Studies at the Royal Academy schools from 1978 to 1981.

Mike Bernard has been a peripatetic teacher at his alma mater, West Surrey College of Art and Design, and at Salisbury College of Art.

A highly successful painter, Mike has received many prestigious awards including the British Institute Landseer Prize High Commended Award in 1990, the Laing Landscape Painting Award in 1993 and the Kingsmead Gallery Award at the RI Exhibition in 1999.

‘i create shapes which relate to the abstract structure of the subject. When the glue is dry, i apply acrylic ink in bold, random strokes which encourages wonderful colour and textural ‘happy accidents’. From this state of chaos i endeavor to define the subject through various drawing techniques, to a finished stage where the subject has recognisable passages, but at the same time retain a semi- abstract, impressionistic feel, engaging the viewers imagination.’

Mike has exhibited widely in London and the provinces and was elected a member of the RI in 1997.

Experimenting with media and techniques, often using mixed media incorporating collage and acrylics, Mike has found the ‘amazing light’ following a move to Devon in 2008 particularly inspirational.