Not only did Michael Ashby spend time with us during his artist residency, but he was, for quite some time, the man we called upon to run our life-drawing classes. Michael offered our painters, practical considerations and asked the students to reveal a little about themselves. A good portrait is not just a visual representation of a person; but also reveals something about the essence of the person, something the artist tries to capture in his own portraits.
A bit about the artist... Michael studied Fine Art at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology 1978 to 1980. After dipping his brush into a few styles at RMIT he resolved to paint in the realist tradition, taking it to a professional level while raising his two children and teaching art to school kids and locals in his neighbourhood of Essendon. He has since exhibited annually, with 2020 being his 25th year.
Michael works from life to handcraft images steeped in the impact and beauty of western art. He notes Michelangelo, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Manet as key influences. Michael has won over 15 prizes and commendations and continues to look to paint the elusive perfect painting.