The artists behind our 2024 Christmas Cards
Published on 27 November 2024
We are delighted to share our range of 2024 Christmas cards, which have been designed by autistic artists who attend our specialist art studio, Artrack. The money raised by our Christmas cards will go towards our work to support autistic people and their families.
Michael Lymbery, Michael Byrne and Clive Mealin, have created 10 vibrant designs which celebrate Christmas and the festive season. The artists have been with our charity since they were children who attended Helen Allison School, and now live in our Gravesend residential services.
For the past 30 years, they have all attended Artrack, our specialist art studio for the people we support at our Kent Day Centre, SAND.
About the artists
Michael Lymbery
Michael has established his line drawing technique at Artrack, with a remarkable eye for detail and is able to convert any image into a drawn illustration. Michael draws a range of subjects from landscapes and buildings to still life, in both black and colour, and loves to listen to Chopin while working. Michael felt happy when creating work for our charity Christmas cards.
Michael Byrne
Michael’s artwork includes painting, mixed media, sewing, with a range of still life, abstracts and landscapes, and he is currently working on a collection of bags, T-shirts and badges. He likes to work in blocks of colour to represent the objects he is drawing.
Michael’s love for 60s music, especially The Beatles, is evident in his artwork and his bright, psychedelic style captures the distinct features of the musicians who inspire him. Michael often plays the band he is illustrating while he works, and feels relaxed and calm when he is creating.
Clive Mealin
Clive finds inspiration from many post-impressionist artists and Vincent Van Gogh is one of his favourite artists. He uses various mediums, techniques and subject matters and creates artwork in contemporary and traditional styles.
Clive loves sailing and exploring new places which he then sketches to record his experiences as he travels. He enjoys taking photographs when out and about and nature scenes are prevalent in his pieces. He also finds a lot of inspiration through other artists and enjoys to work on details that catch his eye and focuses on colour use and brush stroke techniques. Clive liked making our charity Christmas cards and felt relaxed whilst working on the project.
Kate Vickers, Individual Giving and Supporter Fundraising Lead at the National Autistic Society, said: "We are absolutely delighted with our range of 2024 Christmas cards which have been so beautifully designed by our artists, Michael, Michael and Clive. All money raised by our Christmas cards will go towards our work to support autistic people and their families. We hope people enjoy sharing our Christmas cards as much as we’ve enjoyed creating them and we are so grateful to all our supporters for fundraising for our charity."