Michael Harrison was born and raised on a farm in Snowshill in the Cotswolds.  From an early age his love of animals and his close observation of them allowed him recreate what he had seen, often purely from memory.

 

He had no formal art education, but felt that this liberated him to experiment with different media and develop his own style.  He painted in oils as well as watercolour, but it was with the latter that he found the greatest challenge and the most satisfaction.

 

Michael Harrison lived in Rome in the late seventies, where he supplemented his sporadic income by teaching, taking his students to Venice, Rome and into the Italian countryside.  One of his students was his wife, Pink, also now a watercolour painter.  As he was becoming known and collected in Italy, he became ill and returned to live in Snowshill.

 

During his final years he was a familiar figure following the North Cotswold Hunt, sketchbook in hand, recording many a tumble.  Even in his rapid sketches he captured a resemblance of both horse and rider.

He had gained in confidence and technical ability, and had won a large number of collectors of his work, when he died at the tragically early age of 35.

 

Michael Harrison exhibited at the RI, RA, and at his own and joint exhibitions in England and Italy.  His work is in collections worldwide.