The artistic career of Michael Gibbison from humble beginnings in Kettering has received endorsements from some of the most influential figures in the artistic community. It was leading artist and sculptor Barbara Hepworth who applauded the carefully sculpted hand, hewn from an old oak gatepost with a broken sliver of glass while he was on National Service with the infantry in Aden (now Yemen). Unbeknown to him, the work that had relieved some of the horrors of daily life in Aden was exhibited in the Regimental Art Exhibition in the Mall, London, putting his work in front of an illustrious audience.

When he reached his forties, having worked as a plumber in a rural village, bringing up his family of three with his wife Glennis, a gift of a drawing pad from his daughter Caroline prompted him to join the Market Harborough Art Group. It was here that a chance meeting with artist Les Goodwin, who was also an art critic for the Leicester Mercury and who frequently contributed to art discussions and programmes on the BBC, not only gave Michael valuable practical advice but also gave him the confidence to exhibit more widely.