A real renaissance man, Michael Alford spent an early period of his life in the Royal Marines before reading Spanish and Arabic at Durham University and later studying art at the Slade School and Chelsea School of Art; it is here that he built upon the passion and initial training that his father gave him for art.
Inspired by life and the varied world around him, Alford paints with a great variety, turning his hand from Cityscapes to Nudes with a seemingly effortless skill. Perhaps this ease comes in part from living and working in London where he can witness in one city, such a large cross section of life and humanity. Informed further by extensive travels, Alford observes and collects memories in the form of small studies and sketches, providing himself with the perfect foundation to paint the world as he sees it.
He captures both figures and scenes with an intimate presence through a refined lens, which blurs the harsh lines of reality whilst keeping the essential form and shapes which give them a truth and grounding. This style of painting marries beautifully with his present-day subjects to create a work of art that is both reminiscent of Neoclassicism and yet easily translatable to the modern viewer.
This softness behind his paintings is, in part, captured through technique but also through Alford’s ability to use time as a buffer between his immediate experiences and his work. In the first instance Alford will head out to find and study, taking quick drawings, which he will bring back to his studio in order expand on and work into; not only working in the paint, but also the mood and mystery of life. This softness creates an enchanting and almost mythical haze to his work despite the scenes being quite simply those of the world around him.
Highly admired within the British and International art world, Alford has won many awards for his work alongside being appointed as the Official War Artist for the British Military in 2011, 2013 and 2016.
Michael Alford exhibits extensively throughout the UK and now at Red Rag Gallery in Bath.
