30th September – 3rd November 2023
Doone Valley Gallery are delighted to present an exhibition of paintings, drawings and sculpture by Mick Cawston.
Mick Cawston needs little introduction to the inhabitants of Exmoor – the National Park where Doone Valley Gallery is picturesquely situated. His work can be seen in many local Inns and Public Houses, as murals in The Rockford Inn and Crown Hotel, Lynton and as paintings and prints adorning the walls of The Staghunters. Mick Cawston was a self taught artist who went on to become one of the leading sporting and wildlife painters of his generation.
The decade that Mick spent living on Exmoor was as impactful on the iconography and identity of the area in the late 20th and early 21st century as Sir Alfred Munnings’ efforts fifty or so years earlier. Many people have their own anecdotes of Mick; from drawing their dog’s portrait on a napkin, painting the sign for their farm or a raucous night in a local wateringhole – Mick has attained near mythical status in North Devon and West Somerset. I once asked someone how it was that Mick was able to transcend his craft – they replied, ‘he was a sweetheart’.
