Mike Norris was born in England in 1957. After leaving school Norris trained as an engineer, attending evening art classes run by Berrisford Hill. By now Norris was creating his own original paintings and had his first sales from group exhibitions. He also started to collect books on wildlife and wildlife art another passion that's continued through his adult life and now has a large library of reference books. During the late 70's and early part of the 80's he continued to paint and draw commissions in his spare time which included wildlife subjects, gun-dogs and horses. By the end of the 80's Norris had started to exhibit in group exhibitions in London at the Westminster Gallery and Christies with the Society of Equestrian Artists.
Norris returned to painting just wildlife subjects during the 90's. In 1999 he met the sculptor Gill Parker and seeing her work inspired him to begin working with sculpture. Norris found working in three dimensions rewarding as it allowed him a freedom of expression not achievied in his painting.
From over a thousand entries by acclaimed wildlife artists, the work by Mike Norris was chosen to exhibit at the internationally prestigious Birds in Art exhibition 2005 and 2007. This exhibition is held at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wisconsin, USA. Entries are of the highest quality, with only a hundred works being accepted for exhibition.
In conjunction with Birds in Art, the Woodson Museum selects an artist to receive its Master Wildlife Artist Award, Raymond Ching being one such recipient. This award acknowledges the artist's outstanding achievements in the field of bird imagery. Each year sixty works are selected from Birds in Art to tour on a national and international basis. An outstanding solo exhibition, Worlds Apart held in 2008 featured fifteen new works.
The Norris flock continues to grow as the artist creates new subjects on a regular basis. In response to public demand a limited edition of the New Zealand Fantail and the Sparrow will be available prior to Christmas 2009. The quality of Norris' work ensures that it sells internationally. Mike Norris is represented exclusively in New Zealand by International Art Centre.
15 New Works on display from 30 October - 10 November
