At first glance one might be forgiven for regarding Mike Briscoe, quite simply, as a realist painter of extraordinary skill. That he is, but there is more. At one level these paintings can be mesmerizing and uplifting, at another faintly disturbing. There is frequently a conflict between absolute stillness and lively movement which can create a sense of unease, a rather unsettling feeling that something is about to happen. Some of his works in particular are similar in mood to the paintings of that great American realist painter, Edward Hopper, and it is what makes Mike Briscoe's work so fascinating.
"When I look back at the work, I produced it is clear that I have always worked in themes. They may go on for some time, even years. I feel there is an evolutionary process at work. I have always had a strong attraction to coastal seaside images, having lived on the North Wales coast for most of my life it is of no surprise that seaside images have dominated the content of my work. I have often painted scenes from café interiors with the outside visible usually the sea in the distance, I am fascinated with the relationship between the outside and inside and the intangible experience it provides. The paintings are not an objective report on the natural world they have heightened intensity of colour and tone therefore it is a mix of observation and the experience of being in the moment, time spent and experienced. The locations act as a backdrop to distant memories and more recent experiences.”
Mike Briscoe was born in North Wales in 1960 and studied at Wrexham College of Art and Sheffield College of Art.
He has had several solo shows in Wales where he is a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy and has also exhibited in London as well as the RA summer exhibitions where he was a Stowls prize winner. He also has work in Paris, Germany and the USA.
He has also been elected a member of the international guild of realism, IGOR, based in the United States.
