Among tins and tunes of bright colored paints, Dr. Michael Beech stands beside his latest painting that is still drying on the paint-covered workbench beside him. The painting is another work of boilerism, an impressionist art movement that the good doctor founded and talks about with the kind of enthusiasm that could convince anyone that they needed to take up the practice.

He’s long been something of an artist, and over the years has produced a number of praise-worthy paintings. However, it’s his move into impressionism that has really captured his imagination. His exuberant passion for ‘boilerism’ is infectious and he’s lead many ‘students of boilerism’ in fun hands-on classes where there are no wrong answers.

The term boilerism comes from the fact that wearing a boiler suit is essential while partaking in the kind of art that Dr. Beech so very clearly loves. Paint is applied to a canvas (or MDF board!) in any way the artist feels is fitting. Brushes are rarely used and instead items like sticks, old engine fan-belts, and even leaf blowers shape the outcome of a boilerist painting.

His studio doubles as a garage and tool shed (in truth, that’s the other way around) and after more than two years of prolific boilerism many of the items in the garage have been splattered/boilerised in one way or another. Such is the hectic and unconstrained nature of boilerism that splatters of paint can be seen on almost everything that is anywhere near the bench which the Doctor uses.

This isn’t some pretentious art nonsense with explanations that reach deep into the ridiculous, rather boilerism is entirely about fun and the act of creating something purely because it’s a joy to do so.