Michael Ashcroft Manchester Cityscapes

Michael Ashcroft visited the gallery this week with an array of his fantastic Manchester cityscape paintings to adorn the gallery.

Since his early days experimenting with his Hopper style compositions, Michael has gone on to great critical acclaim having been accepted into the Manchester Academy and Royal Institute of Oil Painters as well as having had works accepted for the Royal Academy Summer Show.

Although Michael is also collected for his plein air landscape paintings, his Manchester urban scenes are his most in demand subject matter.  The panoramic painting above titled ‘Salford Nights’, is Michael at his best.  The artificial street lights cascading shimmering light onto Manchester’s wet streets as the gentle bustle of life goes on, car making their way into Manchester and pedestrians going about their business.

The second two paintings offer a more subdued colour palette reflecting the city by day.  Again Michael captures the gentle hum of the city, the movements and progression of both people and vehicles.  Recognisable streets, mundane to some but fascinating to both Michael and the more discerning viewer.  The gentle touch of an artist in total control and acutely aware of the subtly of the subject matter at hand.

At the time of writing all three piece are available to view in the gallery or order online on our Michael Ashcroft gallery page.