Mike is a member of the SSAA, the Scottish Society of Architect Artists. And like his father, Clifford, attended the Edinburgh College of Art, where he studied architecture under Sir Ralph Cowan. Mike told us “Discussing my proposed diploma submission, Sir Ralph Cowan called me a ‘rogue architect’ - I thanked him for calling me an architect.” Mike was awarded a coveted Andrew Grant Scholarship in 1966 and graduated in 1967.
As a student, Mike purchased his first car in 1961, a humble 1936 Ford 10 from a local Joppa Garage for the princely sum £ 7.00. He told us:
With only 3 forward gears and less than efficient ‘rod brakes’, going up AND down the steep glens was difficult. South of Nethy Bridge and Speyside “The Devil’s Elbow” and “The Lecht” were challenging even in summer. In winter, the Cockbridge to Tomintoul road was invariably the first closed by snow.
But wow! As an angler, passionate about his sport, what a delight to see crystal clear rivers and those further north tinged with peat: all full of wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout in from the salt.
North of Inverness, even the main roads were almost all single-track with passing places. The car made it to Sutherland and Caithness. And the adventures began”
It took many years for bridges to replace ferries, spanning the Beauly, Cromarty and Dornoch Firths.
Mike’s planning post-graduate thesis (1967-9) called: “Ring of the North” encouraged tourists to delay thoughts of Loch Ness and monsters. And instead drive north to enjoy the lands of the Vikings: Sutherland, Caithness and the North Coast. It was adopted by Caithness County Development Department. His film Sutherland Gem of Scotland helped it along the way. It was rediscovered some 50 years later. And renamed “North Coast 500”.
In 1976, after 10 years employed by a Scottish design-build company, Mike became self-employed: now embracing, art, architecture, journalism, photography and film production.
His passion for working outdoors - painting-wise ‘en plain air’ - and film, radio and television, took him to Europe, including filming in Greenland and Iceland, the Middle and Far East and North America. Two visits to New Zealand in the new Millennium - and to Madeira and France - embraced, as well as work, a love of good wine: exceptional whisky was reserved for very special occasions, such as opening day of the Scottish salmon season in January and February. A special dram to warm body and soul against what is laughingly called ’Spring” but often meant curling stones across frozen highland rivers.
Ardnamurchan, as well as blessed with rivers and lochs for the sporting angler, is one of the geological wonders of the north and west of Scotland. Its rugged landscapes, carved by time and awe-inspiring seas on three sides, make this very isolated part of Scotland, like its whisky, so very unique.
“In art, I love painting and sketching from Nature and everything that surrounds me. Neither textures nor colours can truly be appreciated from car or train. Or from the air! But to encapsulate all that this unique whisky required, I personally felt drawn to producing a textural painting. The essence of the malt and ‘it’s nose’ form part of the DNA of this painting, although sadly, you will be unable to share that with me, until CaskShare make it all possible.”
Ardnamurchan was first sketched by Mike in watercolour, then developed and layered using acrylic, coloured inks, egg tempera and gold paint. The analogy is an interesting one as nothing quite encapsulates an exclusive malt whisky as its raw and rich heritage, an exclusive provenance for the discerning individual.
This artist collaboration was a particularly inspiring one with Mike researching Ardnamurchan extensively and pulling an all-nighter to get the artwork finished on time.
At 80 years of age, Mike reasserted “I won’t retire, as I never started work in the first place. I'm privileged to have had such amazing opportunities and memories. And I’ve not quite made up my mind what I plan to do when I grow up.”
A true story of love - for place, geology and art. And a uniquely crafted whisky.
Caskshare's Collective Series Collaboration with Mike, an Ardnamurchan single cask, cask strength release is available to reserve now.