Michael Chappell has lived in Dorset since 1997, having been tempted here by his love for the sea.
Like many of its residents, he enjoys walking along the golden sands and rolling green hills, but what he really loves is the fact that it helps him to indulge in his great passion - art. Specialising in sea and coastline scenes means that Michael finds much inspiration from his surroundings; even allowing it to physically play a part in some of his pieces. "It's a cliche about the Jurassic Coast, but it is a fantastic coastline. It's even better in the winter, when you get south-westerly gales, big tides, dark skies, stormy sea, yes it's a fantastic coast, fantastic place to be." Favourite spot? When it comes to picking his favourite place to work, Michael is very much enthused: "Almost anywhere, I particularly enjoy working at West Bay. I've painted from the old pier, the pier before it was built and now the new pier there. "I love Lyme Regis, the coast between Lyme Regis, because that's wild and barren and forever getting rockfalls; and I particularly love the undercliffs - that's a magical place! And Portland, I sometimes exhibit at a gallery down there so I'll often do some work there too. The sea may be his passion but Michael is also fond of Dorset's lush greenery: "Indland as well - we've got wonderful countryside. My favourite hill is Lewesdon Hill, I've done a lot of work around there." Michael not only paints, but also creates pieces called 'assemblages', and this has led to some interesting stories, particularly with some of his award entries: "Controversially I've won a couple prizes at the Bridport Open Exhibition with my assemblages, which are made up of all the detritus you might find on the beach, including a dead bird and a seagull which won first prize in it's class and upset some of the traditionalists!" Dorset-based
 | | Michael's gallery is set nicely. |
His most recent move has been to open a new gallery at the picturesque setting of Mangerton Mill near Bridport, a venue Michael hopes will encourage local people and visitors to Dorset to get involved with art. "I hope it's going to be somehwere where people can see good art. I don't just mean my art, but lots of artists. I've got another artist there, Jon Sloper, who does wildlife painting in watercolours. "I've got two tremendous potters, from the Upwey Potters Group. Bill Crumbleholme, who takes these wonderful Iron-Age shapes and designs and builds pottery around them, and there's Pat March who is inspired by the coast. She's got some wonderful pots there, she takes drawings and sketches of the coast and pebbles and builds that into her pots. "It's also going to be a place where you can go and learn to be an artist. I'm going to run art classes here throughout August for people to come along and discover. "I want to broaden people's views about art, I think a lot of people have narrow views of art, and I want them to help them develop as artists, gain skills and move on in their artwork as well." Getting started Michael has not always been a professional artist, in fact he spent many years in jobs and careers before he actually got down to revisiting his early passion: "I've painted for as long as I can remember. I remember painting in infant school it's that long ago."
 | | The mill is a wonderful site |
"I never got the chance to go to art college, growing up on a council estate, it wasn't the thing to do, that was until nine years ago when I had the opportunity to go away and do the Fine Art degree I'd waited all those years to do. "That fuelled my passion for art, so we moved down to the South West, be near the sea, which is also a passion of mine is trying to paint the sea, particularly stormy, wet conditions, so it's been a lifetime thing." Art is fun! Michael might take his art seriously, it is his stock in trade after all, but he is keen to point out that it is intended to be fun at the end of it all: "I think it's having an open mind. It's discovering what art can be. It's more than painting pretty pictures. It can be much wider and exciting than that. It's not the finish product, it's the creating process. "What I want to do with my students is to get them excited about making art, not worrying about the finished result. You'll find kids are like that, kids just love messing about with paint and pencils and that's where the enjoyment is." "People sometimes lose that and get too worried about the finished product. The more you enjoy the creative process the better your art will be." Michael's Gallery is open at weekends throughout the year, and his classes will be running throughout August 2006. You can find out more details on his website, which is accessed via the link below:
Chappell Studio >
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