OIL painting artist Michael Piper is putting his own stamp on the new multi-million pound Northampton College Daventry Campus, joining students, staff and local businesses to help create a giant commemorative mural.
The mural, which will be unveiled later this year, will be made up of hundreds of individually designed tiles, and Michael has been using his own creative talent to craft a tile of his own design.
Visiting the new campus, the local artist took the opportunity to spend time with art students, offering career and technique advice.
“The hardest thing is starting off, particularly when you’re young,” said Michael. “My advice is to exhibit anywhere but send your work first and let that do the talking. Don’t just stick to Northamptonshire, places like London and Brighton have really good galleries.
“Lots of my commissioned work comes from paintings that are seen in other people’s houses. Getting work into homes is more important that displaying it in galleries because that’s where the money is. Try displaying your work in offices too and get it seen by as many people as possible.
“The important thing is, don’t hold back. Aim to be the best, stick with it and be committed, it’s easy to get lost along the way. Don’t copy other people’s work either, you can do that on a computer.”
Michael has pledged to continue supporting students at the new Daventry Campus and is now looking forward to mentoring students and running workshops.
For more information about the courses available at the new campus visit www.northamptoncollege.ac.uk For a flavour of Michael’s work visit michaelpiper-artist.co.uk/