Mike Stead (aka Mike Bliss)  was born in Hartlepool in 1976 to an army family.  He inheritedfrom his Mother & Father a strong work ethic and morality that has produced a prolific and dedicated artist.  He spent his childhood in places like Bangkok, Hong Kong, London & Germany.  He has always drawn & painted.  He was a painfully shy child who invented his own world to escape into, drawing beautiful people to be his play mates.  He moved to London in the summer of 2002 after a serious gay bashing incident in Hartlepool.  He decided that he could either be a victim or refuse to allow the brutality of the attack to dictate his future.  He bought a one way ticket and got off the bus in Victoria with £50 in his pocket and nowhere permanent to live.  This was nearly seven years ago.  From then to now Mike has managed to exhibit all over London from Cork Street to Covent Garden as well as at the Adonis Art Gallery.  He works on his portfolio as well as undertaking private commissions - a testament to his dedication, hard work & self belief.

Mike studied fashion in Edinburgh and this design background is evident in the illustrative nature of his work, also providing him with an ability to understand that being a good artist is rarely enough to be successful: you also need to be able to sell yourself and know your audiences' tastes and needs. Mikesbliss first exhibited at the Adonis Art Gallery in 2006.  That exhibition explored very different themes to this one, such as happiness, love, hope & well being.  The present exhibition is the exact opposite, dealing. with grief, loss, heartbreak & hopelessness.  The seeds of this radical departure was what can only be described as a nervous breakdown.  The shift in subject matter was necessary to visualise the battle  to regain his mental health.  His life was drained of colour so he extracted it from his palette too.