Mike Chaplin
Michael James Chaplin (Mike) NDD, RWS, RE, FRSA (born 19 September 1943) is a British artist, known primarily for his work in the mediums of etching and watercolour. He was guest art expert on the Channel 4 art programme Watercolour Challenge with Hannah Gordon. Early life Chaplin was born in Little Barford, Bedfordshire, in 1943, and attended primary school in nearby Sandy. In the early 1950s, he moved with his parents and older sister to Harpenden in Hertfordshire. As a child, his love of art was already starting to develop. He attended St. Albans Boys' Grammar School, where he was a contemporary of Colin Blunstone and Chris White, who later formed the pop group The Zombies. Chaplin had been the guitarist in an earlier band alongside Colin Coke and Chris White, called The Markysparks, in reference to Markyate, Chris White's home town. Career After finishing his schooling, Chaplin spent a short time working in the art department of the school, before continuing to the Watford School of Art to study graphic design, gaining his National Diploma of Design. He followed this with a postgraduate course in Printmaking at the Brighton School of Art, now the University of Brighton Faculty of