Mick Flaum is a fine artist and printmaker originally from London who resides and works in Los Angeles, California.
Mick had the good fortune of existing at the very nexus of change and a contemporary culture explosion and melting pot in the summer of love, 1967 on Venice Beach, California. Mick’s fortunes took him traveling the world as a creative seeker and because of this he has an astounding history as an artist, original Venice Beach hippie and beloved family man and member of the creative community in Westside Los Angeles.
A feature length documentary about his life is currently in production.
Mick Flaum – Extended Artist Biography
Mick Flaum, after completing 5 years of formal Art Education in London, England, felt the call of travel so embarked on a series of journeys that took him clear across the Canadian Continent, coast-to-coast, from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Vancouver, British Columbia, by Canadian Pacific Railroad. Stopping off in the heart of the Prairies for a winter in Edmonton, Alberta. He then traveled down into the USA and worked for a while in Venice Beach, California, honing his silkscreen skills with a local poster maker, Earl Newman. This was in 1967 and Mick was definitely a product of the times. He married a lady, Annie, with 5 children and so became an instant Dad at the tender age of 23. This is when his adventures and his seasoning as an artist really began.
Mick and Annie bought an old Ford Falcon station wagon, piled in the kids their 2 dogs and a sack of brown rice and drove across the States to spend the summer of 1968 in New York then on to London, England. They arrived in time to hang out at the Apple offices in Saville Row, visit with John and Yoko and with George Harrison at their respective houses. They also got to attend the infamous Beatles Christmas party of '68 and meet Ken Kesey along with a chapter of the L.A. Hell's Angels.
The world was still calling so the whole family crammed into an old Austin van, still with the 2 dogs, crossed the English Channel and slowly drove down from Paris to the South of France. They rested awhile in Cannes while Mick's wife, Annie, gave birth to a baby boy. An old Panhard bus was acquired to live and travel in which took them down into Italy, back up through France Into Belgium and on to Amsterdam, Holland where Annie gave birth to a baby girl.
Mick settled for a few years in Amsterdam handling all the design and hand-silkscreen printing the publicity for the Melkweg, one of the largest multi-media centers in the city. He returned to the U.S.A in 1976 and has been there ever since.
Through his travels and experiences raising children on a very day-to-day level on the road he found that his faith in human nature was put greatly to the test. Each day was very special and vital. The basic needs of food, clothing and shelter took over as an art-form in themselves. Each day was another finished canvas of children, fed and nurtured. Only by being truly in tune with the forces of Nature could the survive and flourish. Mick began to tap into an inherent source of inner peace and spirituality on these travels. When he finally came to settle in California, the prints and works that came out of his studio all seem to convey a feeling of this peace and tranquility. His use of blended colour and simple graphic imagery offer an almost meditative quality to his serigraphs. Mick believes that if his artworks can radiate to the viewer a certain sense of well-being and calm, in these seemingly chaotic times we live in, then his efforts have been truly worthwhile.