Artist Biography

As an Interdisciplinary artist, Michael Hepher has built a fascinating artistic career over 20 years.

His 20+ year career has been characterized by works created with a unique sense of colour, oblique interpretation of the common, and a relentless pursuit of quality. Known also as the founder of Clawhammer Press, a historic printmaking studio, Michael is a versatile artist with a broad knowledge of the creative process. From the beautiful to the banal, his paintings and prints lead him to seek that one angle that gives each moment its particular voice. Colourful, textural works emerge with the goal of anchoring the viewer in a moment and seeing what they haven’t seen before. Painting in oil on canvas and wood or linoleum block prints, Hepher works with unique colour schemes and layers of texture to bring out the emotion of a landscape.

He has to his credit a wide variety of successful exhibitions, public art projects, and private commissions. Notable events include his solo exhibit ‘In This Together’ (Kimberley Centre 64 • 2021),  ‘All Kinds of Beauty’, a 16 x 96’ mural (Downtown Fernie • 2019) and ‘Backroads BC’, a travelogue of oil paintings (Fernie Museum Gallery • 2018, and Smithers Art Gallery • 2019). Michael continues to work from his studio in Fernie, BC.