Michael Goddard
Born in Lancashire, England in 1951. Now living in the beautiful Peak District National Park in Derbyshire. Studied art and design in the North of England in the late 1960's, where a multi disciplinary art and design education fostered an understanding and interest in visual communication media. This was followed by 20 years working in a variety of design areas in the UK, starting as an interior designer in London, then as a graphic designer and photographer in the north of England. Michael was awarded the academy young artists prize for painting over three consecutive years during the late 1970's and shortly after became a member of the academy. His paintings have been exhibited at the British International Drawing Biennale, Thackeray Gallery, London, Colin Jellicoe Gallery, Manchester, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and at other regional UK galleries. A period of travelling through Afghanistan, India, Thailand and Malaysia strongly influenced his early work. More recently his travel experiences have included Australia, Israel and South Africa. His recent paintings explore in fine detail the effect of light on the surface of water and the distortion of the human form beneath the surface. Photography has always been important to him and during his travels Michael always carries a camera to capture sudden moments of interest, which become references for his work. Michael is becoming well known internationally for his design of kites and airborne structures. He is currently a lecturer in visual communication and multimedia at the Cheshire School of Arts and Design.