About the Artist: Mike Barlow

Mike is a painter and sculptor. He lives in Lancaster in the North of England.

Mike doesn’t see why artists should always paint on flat, rectangular surfaces. He liked the idea of painting on weathered pieces of wood he found by river estuaries and on the seashore.

The wood is worn and stained by the sea and bleached by the sea. Sometimes there are rust marks where old nails have been. Often, the pieces of wood he finds were once part of something.

Mike uses the different shapes and textures as a starting-point for his work. He puts together pieces of wood to make interesting constructions. He paints on these, bringing out shapes and textures already there, and adding his own ideas.