Mike Staniford - Earthmarks, 2025 - Acrylic on canvas - 102x102cm framed

Mike Staniford is a Sydney-based artist inspired by the atmospheric landscape of Australia and the emotive qualities of light and weather. His paintings are intuitive and gestural, seeking to reinterpret the landscape, to distill down its complexity and eliminate the unnecessary while capturing the bold colours of nature. 

Driven by the dynamism of interpretation, Mike paints with a strong commitment to the loaded brush. Colour, line and form work together in his paintings, which are imbued with a sense of energy; both in the ever-changing landscape which they represent, and in the expressive nature of his practice. Of his artistic intention, Mike has said: “I want to move beyond a formal view and evoke a sense of emotion, a distinct moment in time, the drama and cyclical rhythms of the light, elements and time of day and to make shape and colour paramount in my work. To give you a sense of the emotion, as well as the topography of the land.”