Mick Cawston Wildlife Art

Sadly, Mick Cawston died in 2006, and although Cranston Fine Arts did not publish his work, we believe he was one of the finest wildlife artists, and we are priviledged to offer his art prints. His sudden death will be a great loss to his family, friends, collectors and associates, and the art community as a whole. We have echoed here the tribute and biography displayed on his publisher's website: Had you met Mick Cawston walking down the path towards you in his old battered jacket, his hair down to his shoulders and his knee hanging out of his jeans you would have been forgiven for not realising that he was one of the world's finest dog painters. His work is comparable to that of John Emms or Maude Earl and he worked equally well in oils, water colours or pastels. No matter what breed of dog he portrayed, the character and likeness of the dog were always superb. Many of his works have been reproduced as limited edition prints and he was voted 5 times, in the Fine Art Trade Guild survey, as one of the top selling artists, winning it in 1998. Born in 1959 in Dagenham, Essex. His father teaches and translates the deaf and dumb language for the police. He was educated at the Robert Clock comprehensive school and it was here that he won his first exhibition at the age of seven. On leaving school he trained as a cabinet maker before signing up in the army for three years. There, amongst other things, he did a six month tour in Northern Ireland. After the army he spent six months working as a motor cycle messenger in London, earning himself enough money to spend a few months touring Europe. Throughout all this time his passion for drawing grew stronger and on returning from Europe he spent six months sketching people’s children on the pavements of Covent Garden, in pastel at £3 a time. From here a London silversmith employed him to design silverware, largely for the Arab market. However, interesting as this was, it was never Mick’s great passion and before very long he moved away from London and spent the next three years living in a small cottage on a farm in Burnham-on-Crouch and returned to selling his work on the streets, although this time his price had gone up to £18 a drawing. Despite his price increase he could not make a living and as a result he started to paint seriously in oils in the early part of 1987. By the middle of 1987 he had been discovered by Sally Mitchell and by the end of this year he had his first two limited edition prints published after his work. He never looked back becoming one of the country's top selling published artists with a very strong following of country loving people. In 1996, Mick celebrated the publication of his 200th print, entitled Wildlife 200, which is a wonderful composite picture of British wildlife. The painting was used in a children’s competition, run by the national magazine Shooting Times, for young children to name all the animals in the picture. The original painting, an oil on canvas, 24 inches by 36 inches was donated to the Animal Health Trust where it was successfully auctioned for £3000. He was featured by Gundogs magazine in 1996 as one of the leading dog artists. He has been featured in many magazines and his work has graced numerous front covers of leading publications. The first time he exhibited at the Society of Equestrian Artists in London, with only the second horse picture he had ever painted, he won the award for the best newcomer. The next year he was awarded full membership. His original paintings are widely collected and his pictures hang in collections in many countries, including Sweden, Australia, Kenya, Japan, America much of Europe and, of course, England. Mick would have been so touched to see how many people mourned his passing. He was a very special person and a true friend.