Michael Richardson was born in 1943 in North London. His fathers illness forced the family to move out of London after the war ended to Ipswich in Suffolk, a particularly pleasant rural county in the South East of England also known as "Constable Country".

He was encouraged to take further art education on leaving Ipswich School in 1960 and trained at Ipswich School of Art as a sculptor and painter 1960-1962. At this time a keen interest in sailing led him into a career in the marine industry where he specialised in sail design and manufacture.

During this period he maintained his interest in painting as a hobby and returned to full time painting in 1992.

As a result of his marine industry experience he is drawn to subjects containing boats and his knowledge of the way they are designed and built lends authenticity to his marine work.

A prolific output, mainly in watercolour has found homes all over the globe, a large number of which are in America.

He has organised several overseas painting holidays for other artists in France Belgium and Holland. He has also traveled extensively painting throughout Europe, The Far East, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia and the USA

His main current interest is in plein air painting enjoying the challenge of working fast in all weathers in front of the subject.

He is a member of the Wapping Group of Artists, probably the oldest outdoor painting society in the UK which numbers several of the most prominent British  Landscape and Marine Artists including Trevor Chamberlain, Fred Beckett, Paul Banning, Bert Wright,.Roger Dellar and Geoff Hunt