Mike Jackson was born in Manchester in 1962 and he explains here some of his early experiences that
influence his artwork today. ‘My upbringing is full of treasured memories that inspire my work – selling my
mum’s best coat to the rag and bone man for a few balloons, holidaying at  Blackpool and Rhyl,
Donkey rides, Punch and Judy, sand in my butties and my mum on Prize Bingo always bring a smile to my face.
This is naturally what I choose  to paint. I love to share the humour of life in my work, If I paint a street
scene with kids playing football, I believe the painting should have all the elements of the moment,
even the old lady telling us to ‘go and play round your  own end’, dogs getting amorous with each other
and the ‘dimp picker’ collecting  fag ends from the pavements. The inclusion of these wonderful
memories makes my paintings much more interesting.’Mike Jackson now live in Somerset, where local
beaches bring extra inspiration to his paintings, living near the coast gives him the opportunity to collect
reference for his new paintings. As Mike says, ‘I love to people watch,  witnessing holiday romancers,
beach bums, screaming kids high on candy floss  and day trippers trying to enjoy their day
whilst over-laden with bucket and  spades, carrier bags full of butties, flasks of tea and sand sodden towels,
queuing for the ‘charrabang’ to go home…deep joy.’

‘It has always been my dream to be able to earn a living as an artist and I
feel so lucky to have my hobby as a job.’