After studying at the Limerick School of Art and Design, Michael Canning studied in Greece at the School of Fine Arts in Athens from 1992 to 1993, and in 1999 he received his Masters Degree in Fine Art from the National College of Art & Design in Dublin.

Michael Canning's paintings of hedgerow plants confront certain traditions of northern European painting. Neither landscapes, nor still lifes, they convey an atmospheric quality laden with spiritual undertones. Heavy mists shroud the rolling hills of the Irish landscape which part only for the wild plants. The plants are rendered directly from observation. Each painting is built up in layers, using oil paint and wax. They som...