EXTRACTS: Illustrators Issue 4 © 2013 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

6 TOP: Cover illustration for Four Square Books . ABOVE: An unusual illustration for Homes & Gardens magazine. ABOVE RIGHT: Illustration for Woman magazine 1960. FACING PAGE: Although a successful illustrator, Mike, together with his peers, produced sample illustrations to develop his technique, and experiment with different concepts. Boeing 747 aircraft flying over specific landscapes for the Russian airline Transaero, and one of his aeronautical paintings hangs in the entry hall of the Air Force museum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As a schoolboy Johnson was also a keen racing cyclist, and came third in the North Yorkshire/ South Durham Junior Sprint Championships. When he was sixteen, and a pupil at Thirsk Grammar School, he was awarded an Art Scholarship for three years, to study painting, sculpture, graphic design, and architecture. When he completed the course, his first job was with a design group operating from Leeds in West Yorkshire, where he produced designs and illustrations for a variety of advertising accounts. His ambition was to break into the international illustration world, and © IPC Media © IPC Media