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Artistjeffries
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[12805275]
[2010-01-24 22:37:21 +0000 UTC]
"Mike Jeffries"
(United Kingdom)
# Statistics
Favourites: 7; Deviations: 75; Watchers: 307
Watching: 11; Pageviews: 19483; Comments Made: 260; Friends: 11
# About me
I was born in Plymouth, Devon just before WW2 but as far as I know it wasn’t me who upset Hitler who nevertheless did his upmost to kill me and my family over the next five years. However we were lucky, for when he bombed Plymouth flat in 1940 my Mum and I were untouched and were evacuated to live out the War on a farm in Cornwall. My Dad, a sailor in the Royal Navy, on active service on the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Russian convoys thoughout the War never got his feet wet but my poor Uncle Jack,who I never knew, went down with the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous in the first week of the War.All this you might think has little to do with Art but one of my first memories is of the sleepy lanes around the farm becoming suddenly alive with Army lorries of every shape and size in the build-up to D-Day. All at once I was hooked on lorries, perhaps the air of excitement and the generosity of the American GIs who supplied us urchins with sweets helped, but from that day on I started to draw these wonderful,[ to my eyes,] machines on any scrap of paper I could find.
Since then I have never stopped drawing, and I believe that to be able to draw is the key, if you want to be a painter of pictures then start with a pencil, it will give you an appreciation of line, of tone and train your eye on how to represent objects on a two dimensional suface to make them appear three dimensional and it will also build your confidence for when you do commit paint to canvas.
Despite, or because of, my interest in Art I was discouraged at every turn by both parents and teachers not to make a career of my "hobby" but to follow a real career and get a proper job in an office or even a bank and so I missed out on Art college which I desparately wanted.
In protest the first job I got on leaving school, much to my parent’s dismay, was with British Railways shovelling coal as a fireman on the footplate of a steam engine from which I get my love of steam locomotives and the railway of that era.
I worked for over two years at Saltley, one of the largest sheds on the system, on every type of job from shunting to express passenger work and on locomotives that varied from little 3F 0.6.0s, Black Fives, Doodlebugs right though to 9F 2.10.0s. Despite the hard work and discomforts of life on the footplate I loved every minute of it. I met and made friends with so many colourful characters, from drivers to the guy who swept the shed floor and count it a great priviledge to have been part of the elite body of men who gave the railway its unique identity and values.
Next came National Service in the British Army where I was taught to shoot straight,obey orders and to drive, [lorries naturally,] and I served three years for the Queen and did my duty. Again some of the men I met were such characters and the disipline and respect for the Army and its role in the proud history of my Country will always be with me.
Then came many years on the road in civvy street driving lorries, buses and coaches the length and breath of the country before making the break to work full time painting pictures of the subject I know best. Thoughout these years, even in the Forces, I continued to draw whenever I had the chance knowing that one day my dream of becoming a professional artist would be realised.
I still strive every day to learn more about painting in particular and Art itself in general and continue to make friends with some fine people though my involment in this thing called Art.
Visit my web-site, www.transportartist.co.uk and you’ll see what I mean.
Meanwhile I will be posting some other work on this site and hope to get some feed-back, positive or otherwise, to further improve my work because the day an artist sits back and is satisfied with his efforts that is the day he ceases to be an artist!
May I apoligise in advance if I appear to ignore comments, this is because as a working artist I sometimes am away from my computer for days at a time and don't particularly log on every day but do attempt to catch up when I can, thank you.
NOTICE I own full and exclusive copyrights on all my paintings on this website and they are protected under International Copyright laws. My images do not belong to the public domain and may not be posted in another web page on the internet or intranet, may not be published in a journal on this site or any other website such as Facebook or myspace, may not be published in any book, magazine, newsletter or newspaper, may not be duplicated, used in a derivative work of art, used as illustration for musical, dramatic, and/or literary works, or used for commercial use of any kind whatsoever without my prior express written permission, including but not limited to resale of my images without a licence for use. Copyright © Mike Jeffries 2010 The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained herein for any use whatsoever, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.
© Mike Jeffries: Using this Images for any purpose without my prior written permission, may lead to legal action. All Rights Reserved.
# Comments
Comments: 100
Wishing you a very happy birthday wand many happy returns
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You are an incredible talented artist with a fantastic selection of period transport work! Keep up this magnificent work!
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Awesome work. I really love the feeling of your drawings
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Happy birthday, Mike 
And once again, I love your gallery!
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Fantastic find, it's heartwarming to discover an artist like your self, brilliant gallery. Several pieces my dad would love prints of.
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I would like to ask you, what do you think about arts education? Is it necessary for young people if they want to painting well? Your opinion will be very important for me.
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Your work is amazing, love it. I too had the same parental problem and was thrown out to get a proper job!! hence I am a pure amature.
Kind regards Jeff
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Hi!
Thanks a lot for making such a beautiful art! 
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Your gallery is beutiful! Vhen someone is so devoted to the theme and share with us a great work, it is for full respect. Thank You!
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I followed you on my old account =RussianAlfaSubmarine and I will continue to do so on this new account because your art is amazing!
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You deserve WAY more pageviews to this gallery than you have. Your artwork is absolutely amazing!
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I love your art work immensely and your bio really has inspired me. I sorry for your Uncle Jack, it must have been awful.
I think I was born in the wrong time as I love the years of the golden age and the beautiful elegant steam engines and machines it produced. Keep going with the beautiful artwork.^^
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Thank you Hanna, my Uncle Jack and my Dad who were both in the Royal Navy were great friends who married two sisters, Eileen and Laura. Eileen was my mother and of course I only ever knew my Auntie Laura as a widow and mum to my cousins, Angeline and Edward.
I never saw MY Dad until the end of the war when I was six and at first my sister and I didn't really know who he was because our cousins who we used to see all the time had no Dad and we thought that that was the norm.
Keep up your interest in the past because as sure as eggs is eggs it has lessons for your future, those years were better in some respects but many things were grossly unfair to ordinary people, a bit like the situation we have today really.
If you keep up your Art try to add to your skill and learn a little more EVERY day, believe me it will repay you in the years ahead.
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My Dad's a sea captain and I hardly ever see him. He misses birthdays, holidays and other stuff.
I will that advice on board and follow it. Thank you so much.
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beautiful, captivating artwork. all your subjects and settings are so full of character and charisma. Wonderful gallery.
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Very nice work Mike. I love ow you capture the vehicles in the work. Keep it up. You can also visit my website: www.flyncity.net
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hey there..you have an amazing art..
really inspire me..
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I have had about a hundred favourites added today and c just can't answer them all but I will try to address all of them in time so please accept my apoligies if I appear to ignore your kind interest in my work.
Mike
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Love all your work mike. Great paintings indeed- I really enjoyed looking through your gallery.
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Thank you James, that is such a compliment coming from an artist such as yourself and looking at your Tornado painting [which I'm dying to see completed] I think I'd better brush up my act a bit! Your drawing is fautless and I think this work will easily put you into the first rank of railway artists in this country and given the high public profile of Tornado could be a sell out too,just like your excellent Shumacher print.
Best regards
Mike
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Very kind of you Mike cheers, Im hoping this Tornado is going to end up as something very special indeed and I cant wait for the day its complete and framed up!
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There is some truly amazing work here. I love it all, from the commercial vehicles to steam locomotives (the latter in particular), it is an honour to have someone with such talent among us. Even more so given that you worked with steam engines during their final days. Welcome sir, welcome
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Thank you very much, young man, I'm glad that the love of steam lives on with the younger generation.
Mike
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