Top make-up artist returns to home town

WORLD renowned portrait sculptor Mike Hill returned to his hometown to give a master class to students at Warrington Collegiate.
Mike now lives in Los Angeles and is a friend of theatrical and special effects make-up course leader and tutor Debbey Clitheroe, who invited him to the college when she discovered he was visiting the UK.
The students found Mike’s story inspiring, as he recounted how he started out, sharing his expertise as a creative artist in a career that spans over 20 years, covering everything from garage kits to life-size figures; British television to Hollywood films.
Debbey said: “I got in touch with Mike to see when he was coming to the UK to visit his family.
“We went to the same school and used to hang around together as friends. I asked Mike if he would call in to the college to talk to my theatrical and special effects make up students. I was thrilled when he said yes.
“The students were inspired and motivated by Mike to continue to pursue their dreams of becoming make-up artists. He even invited them over to Los Angeles to visit him in his workshop.”
In addition to private commission work, Mike recounted how he has worked for companies such as the Franklin Mint, Sideshow Toys, DC Comics, Dynamic Forces and Tussauds Waxworks.
He said: “If there had been a course like this one when I was younger, I would have definitely enrolled. It is a creative course that is providing a great skill base and knowledge for this type of work.”
Mike’s work has been featured in magazines such as “Amazing Figure Modeler” and “Makeup Artist Magazine”, has been highlighted on “The Girls Next Door” and the “KTLA Morning News”, and been featured on CNN.com and the LA Times.
Theatrical and Special Effects make-up student, Charlotte Wormald, from Padgate, who is progressing to study a degree in Make-up Artistry at Bournemouth Arts University said: “I was surprised how laid back, down to earth and lovely he was. He gave us tips on how to work with certain products and seemed impressed by the course and how passionate Debbey is about her work.”