Michael Coombs (Mike GLC)

Art has never been just a hobby for me. It has always been an escape, a form of expression and a way of turning the sorrows and fortunes of my life into something creative.

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As a child, I was troublesome and struggled to focus at school. When my mother became too unwell to care for my younger brother and me, I was sent into care at the age of six, eventually living at The Grange in the Lake District, a home for children considered “difficult.”

As the only Black child at my school, I often struggled to connect with those around me. Art became my outlet. My ability was recognised early, particularly by my art teacher and two important mentors, artists Dave Turner and Gerry Blood, who encouraged and developed my talent. By the age of ten, I had already experimented with pencils, oils, watercolours, pastels and ink.

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At 13, I returned to London to live with my father, whose own creativity became another major influence. Art gave us a way to connect, and his work inspired me to develop my own standards and artistic identity.

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Today, everything I create still comes from somewhere personal. From the dark, dramatic world of the HITMEN SAGAS comic series, to the betrayed innocence explored in WAR CHILDREN and the deeply personal portraits of GONE BEFORE TIME, every piece carries part of my experience.

Whether through pencil, paint, ink or digital media, I put my heart, history and perspective into the work.

Life is Art.