Biography

Michael Youds was born in Blackburn, Lancashire and studied Fine Art at Lancaster University before moving to Edinburgh in 2007. His work has been exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. He won the Scottish Portrait Awards Fine Art Award in 2019 with a double portrait of himself and his twin brother David, who is also an artist. His portrait Labour of Love, which depicts Tommy Robertson the owner of the shop Backtracks Music and Games in Edinburgh, won third prize in the BP Portrait Award 2020. Youds specialises in portraiture. He is also a gallery attendant at the National Galleries of Scotland.