Mike Bernard's various art studies include time at the Royal Academy schools. He has exhibited at the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London and was elected member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour in 1997. His awards and prizes include the Stowells Trophy, the Elizabeth Greenshields Fellowship, the Silver Longboat Award, and the Laing Award. Robin Capon was an experienced author and art journalist. He wrote several books, including Light and Mood in Watercolour with David Curtis and Abstract and Colour Techniques with Claire Harrigan (both published by Batsford). He was a regular contributor to The Artist and Leisure Painter.