Life
Mike was born at Little Barford, to the south of St. Neots, in Huntingdonshire (now part of Bedfordshire), and attended primary school in Sandy, Bedfordshire.
In the early 1950s, he moved with his parents and older sister to Harpenden, on the outskirts of St Albans in Hertfordshire. His love of art was already starting to develop.
He attended St Albans Boys' Grammar School (since renamed Verulam School) and was a contemporary there of Colin Blunstone and Chris White, who later formed the pop group The Zombies. In fact, Mike was the guitarist in an earlier band, along with Colin Coke and Chris White, called the Markysparks, in reference to Markyate, Chris White's home town.
Leaving school, and following a spell of working in the art department of his Alma Mater, Mike studied graphic design at Watford School of Art, gaining his National Diploma of Design. He followed this up with a postgraduate course in Printmaking at Brighton school of art, now The Faculty of Arts and Architecture, part of the University of Brighton.
After completing his studies, Mike moved with his wife Gay, a teacher and artist in her own right, to Maidstone, in Kent, where they are still based. They have one son, Nicholas (b. 1977) and one daughter, Briony (b. 1980).
In 1971, at the age of 28, Mike was elected as an associate of The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (at that time known as the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers), becoming one of the youngest people ever to receive this accolade. He was later elected to full membership, subsequently serving as Honorary Secretary and Vice President, and is now a senior fellow of the society.
In 1997, having been an associate since 1993, Mike was elected to Full Member of the Royal Watercolour Society. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Read more about this topic: Mike Chaplin
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