Mike has been through hell and high water and survived to tell the tale. By which we mean, he's worked in advertising and managed to escape.   

As any of you who've worked in this industry will know, it's easier to bail from Guantanamo.

Many years ago, fresh from art college, Mike jumped into the world of advertising with all the enthusiasm of a three-year-old on his first water slide. Which, incidentally, is also the perfect analogy for Mike's time in adland. If you remove the water that is.

Ouch!

With his proverbial rear-end somewhat disfigured from the friction-filled plunge into the world of brochures, smiling stock imagery and ridiculous client changes, Mike quit advertising to follow his real passion, drawing.

A hundred exhibitions, walls and canvases later, Mike's a reformed man. He's got back some of the mojo of his younger self and even smiles every now and then.

When we meet him, he’s in a super cheerful mood and takes us to a park near his house. We sit down in this natural paradise in the middle of the city and he tells us about his art.

Mike finds his inspiration in everyday life. The beautifully ugly reality that most people don’t notice.

A guy in a Mickey Mouse costume smoking a cigarette on a break. A girl kitchen hand holding a freshly cut octopus leg in one hand and a knife in the other. A grumpy Irish girl named Gael holding a ‘Go slow’ sign.

Even his smiley and love heart are so beautifully real, they look like characters from a Charles Bukowski book.

Don’t let his drawings fool you, though, Mike’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He's almost too nice.

Check out his work. Buy his art. Support the dude. Keep him away from advertising.