Mike’s Artistic Journey is the name of an exhibition hosted by the Malta Maritime Museum which commemorates Michael Stroud and his life’s work.

Stroud was the curator of the Palace Armoury and passed away last year.

He excelled in figurative work and the characters in his paintings express visceral emotion.

Black and blue, and various tones thereof, seem to be his favourite painterly themes. However, he also experimented with more earthly tones such as ochre and various tawny shades, producing some stunning canvases.

His clay sculptures and ceramics range from realistic figurative life size characters to works symbolic of the futurists and cubism period.

He also painted a large number of sets for outdoor theatre productions, such as those annual summer performances held at San Anton Palace in the 1970s and 1980s.

He is acclaimed for important revelations, namely the discovery of armour attributed to Grand Master La Valette

His scenic expertise went one step further through his involvement in film productions, where he set off on a new artistic journey. The film industry required large sculptures and Stroud employed his skills in the medium. One of his massive sculptures was a two-storey boxer for the film Popeye.

One of the Stroud exhibition rooms at the Maritime Museum.

During his time at the Palace Armoury between 1990 and his retirement, he was responsible for the reorganisation of the entire Armoury layout, the retrieval of armour and weapons used as decor in numerous government buildings and the creation of the first ever inventory of all artefacts in the War Museum collection.

Moreover, he is acclaimed for various important revelations, namely the discovery of armour attributed to Grand Master La Valette and the identification of an early 16th century helmet by the renowned Italian armourer Filippo Negroli, which was subsequently exhibited at the Les Invalides Museum in Paris.

He also identified other armour produced by the famous 16th-century Milanese master all of which was finally givenits due importance within the Palace Armoury.

The Stroud exhibition runs until December 19.