About Michael...

Michael Pugh is a fine arts restorer and oil painter. From a trade background as a painter and decorator he pursued the application of colour and design through formal study, gaining an Associate Diploma Arts in 1994.

His work as a fine arts restorer began with a serendipitous find in 1983 when still working within his trade. In the garage of the house he was painting, sitting on a dilapidated cupboard, he saw an old plaster kookaburra figure looking a bit worse for wear. He was immediately attracted to this statue and asked the householder if she would be interested in selling it. To his surprise she told me him he could have it and the next day he gave her a dozen eggs as a trade and proudly took his statue home.

Over the next week or so he filled, scraped, rubbed and painted until my beautiful kookaburra was restored to his former glory. No longer to be sit on a derelict cupboard in the garage, but taking pride of place on his glass cabinet.

Over the years Michael restored many hundred plaster statues and fine china of famous marks: Royal Doulton, Clarice Cliff, Moorcroft, Hummel, Royal Winton, Beswick, to name a few, working on consignment for antique shops and auction houses, however, his greatest personal satisfaction has been the restoration of the Stations of the Cross at the Church of the Apostles in Launceston , Tasmania.

In his retirement Michael has returned to his love of oil painting, creating beautiful art works for his own enjoyment.