Mike Fitzpatrick has always worked with light and colour. As illustrator then Creative Director in advertising agencies, commercial film director and photographer, Mike has captured the way light falls and colours reflect upon a vast range of subjects. Although these disciplines satisfied his need to create, they never really presented him with a key to unlock his true creative spirit. So in 1991 Mike returned to his first love - painting. Paint gives form to the images in his mind: "Omission is the key to the harmony in my paintings. If a building, person or any other element within a scene is not part of its appeal, I leave it out. Painting should be the best of a memory - the image not the reality." The azure of the Mediterranean, russet in the vineyards of Trentino, the indigo mountains that grace the Cape Peninsula and the fiery African savannah; all have been captured on Mike's canvas by his brushes. He uses vibrant hues to pull the viewer into his own new world. The fuschia of poppies, the radiant gold of sunflowers, the milky white Fleur du Cap lily or the charcoal of an aged oak. City colours too. In his paintings the vivid colours of New York, Amsterdam and Paris contrast with the softer tones of Cape Town, New Orleans and Miami. But his inspiration swells from deeper depths than simply the places he has visited - a melting sun reflected in the waters of the Grand Canal in Venice, a Bedouin encampment in the deep Sahara or Arab dhows in full sail on the Nile. More than 600 of Mike Fitzpatrick's paintings have been sold to private collectors all over the world. You can view a selection of his work right now by moving to the Gallery.