Michael James Chaplin NDD, RWS, RE, FRSA was born on 19 September 1943 and is a British artist, known primarily for his work in the mediums of etching and watercolour.
16 Facts About Mike Chaplin
1.
2.
Mike Chaplin was guest art expert on the Channel 4 art programme Watercolour Challenge with Hannah Gordon.
3.
Mike Chaplin had been the guitarist in an earlier band alongside Colin Coke and Chris White, called The Markysparks, in reference to Markyate, Chris White's home town.
4.
Mike Chaplin followed this with a postgraduate course in Printmaking at the Brighton School of Art, now the University of Brighton Faculty of Arts.
5.
Mike Chaplin became a professional artist at the end of the 1960s, selling his first picture for seven Guineas.
6.
In 1971, at the age of 28, Mike Chaplin was elected as an associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, one of the youngest people ever to receive this honour.
7.
Mike Chaplin was later elected to full membership, subsequently serving as Honorary Secretary and Vice President, and is a senior fellow of the society.
8.
In 1997, having been an associate since 1993, Mike Chaplin was elected a Full Member of the Royal Watercolour Society.
9.
Mike Chaplin is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
10.
Mike Chaplin appeared as the resident art expert on the Channel 4 programme Watercolour Challenge with Hannah Gordon, which began in 1998 and ran for three series.
11.
Mike Chaplin filmed an hour-long follow-up video, made to accompany the series.
12.
In 2002, Mike Chaplin was commissioned to produce a series of handling sheets of watercolour techniques for the Tate Gallery to accompany the Thomas Girtin Exhibition and demonstrated painting techniques during the El Greco Exhibition at the National Gallery.
13.
In 2007 Mike Chaplin was given the opportunity to use pigments that had been ground by J M W Turner into watercolour.
14.
Mike Chaplin subsequently used the paint to film Turner's watercolour techniques for a permanent exhibition at Tate Britain in London.
15.
In 2011 Mike Chaplin worked with the family of J M W Turner to establish the Turner Award for Watercolour as part of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and was himself the recipient of the award in 2011.
16.
Mike Chaplin has had two books published, Mike Chaplin's Expressive Watercolours, and The Complete Book of Drawing and Painting.