With more than 70 of his watercolours on show and for sale, Dorset-based watercolour artist Mike Jeffries is determined his latest exhibition, Light and Movement, will raise much money as possible for his two chosen charities – Lighthouse and Lewis-Manning Hospice Care.
Mike, who was chair of Poole Arts Trust from 2017 until 2020, is a well-established artist with a distinctive visual language best known for impressionist landscapes, lively street scenes, and transport subjects. An avid traveller overseas, he paints scenes associated with his travels, as well as London and local subjects. His paintings are hanging in homes around the world, including Australia, North America and Europe as well as in the UK.
“Being an architect I like to paint buildings and street scenes,” says Mike, “but there is a variety of subjects in the exhibition which I hope will appeal to a wide cross section of viewers.”
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Mike trained as an architect and began painting architectural subjects and street scenes. Since moving from London to Poole some 30 years ago, he has branched out into other areas including marine painting and landscapes.
His painting mentor, the fine British watercolourist John Yardley, once told him that ‘if you see a jumble paint a jumble’. It’s a maxim he had incorporated ever since.
“I paint what I like,” he says. “Finding a subject is more complicated than you might think so I take lots of photos and sketches and maybe only one or two end up being painted.
“Some scenes I’ve painted several times because I just enjoy them so much and there are several local views in this exhibition. Watercolour is the most difficult medium to control so although I would rather paint outside, the reality is I do most of my painting indoors.
“Dorset has left a great impression on us. We are patrons of Lewis Manning Hospice and, of course, I have a long association with Lighthouse. They say charity begins at home and for me it begins at the doorstep so although there are many, many worthy causes all over the world there is plenty of need much closer to home and we confine our charitable giving to local organisations.”
:: Light and Movement: An Exhibition by Mike Jeffries, supporting Lighthouse and Lewis-Manning Hospice Care, opens on Thursday 3 September and runs until Saturday 26 September.
