Scottish-born Senior Royal Academician Mick Moon makes quietly complex paintings that incorporate mixed-media and mark-making using a subtle palette of greys and earthy tones.

In recent years Moon has used a specific technique to create his works, which give them a unique surface quality. Coating the floor of his studio with acrylic paint, he then lays a bare sheet of canvas down onto it, before tearing the canvas away, leaving the imprint of the wooden floor, as well as pieces of wood that have peeled away, stuck to its surface. This forms the first layer of the image which Moon then continues to work on. 

Moon now incorporates figurative elements into his pictures; small boats, paddling figures and circling seagulls inhabit the canvases that he has prepared, transforming the prepared surfaces into vast skies and still waters. In this work, night has fallen and Moon depicts a group of fishing vessels on the richly textured surface, their cabin lights twinkling in the darkness.  

Moon had his first solo exhibition in 1969 at Waddington Galleries, London. Further solo exhibitions include Bowles Sorokko Gallery, San Francisco (1996); Dolan Maxwell Gallery, Philadelphia (1986); Macquaire Galleries, Sydney (1982); Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (1980), and Tate, London (1976). His works are held in many public collections, particularly in the UK and Australia. He won first prize in the 1980 John Moores exhibition, Liverpool and was elected a Royal Academician in 1994. He lives and works in London.