Mike Clay - based in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear

Originally from Sussex, Mike Clay studied art in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, and generally paints characters and scenes close to his home there, including the retired miners who keep chickens or pigeons on the local allotments. Many of the buildings he includes are local landmarks, and his highly narrative images are based either on scenes he has witnessed directly (for instance the ‘Bees’ returning in the early morning from a girls’ night out, and the lad selling hanging baskets he has stolen further down the street…) or on stories in the local newspaper.

In 2005 Mike completed a residency at South Gare on the Tees estuary, Teesside, a fishing area and SSSI close to industrial Teesside, resulting in a number of new paintings capturing local fishermen and landmarks such as a World War II pillbox on the beach. Mike also paints himself as a boy, or other family members, some long dead, in remembered places such as the beach at Hastings.

Mike's pictures captures the gritty reality, but also the humour of life in run-down coastal areas of the North East of England – fights, fast food, and outings on the town or on the beach.