Mackenzie Thorpe was born into a working class family in Middlesbrough, England. Growing up with financial hardships, Thorpe drew with whatever raw materials he could get his hands on. As a child, Thorpe was greatly inspired by Rolf Harris’s weekly TV show, where the prolific artist would create masterpieces before an audience’s eyes. Though he painted in school, Thorpe never believed that he could make a serious living from his art, so Thorpe went to work in the shipyards when he was 15. Though he found the strength and unity of the men he worked with to be inspiring, Thorpe felt, more than ever, that he needed an artistic outlet. Finally, with the encouragement of his uncle Lawrence, Thorpe applied to Middlesbrough College of Art where he attended for two years, and then transferred to the Byam Shaw School of Art in London. After he completed his degree, Thorpe first worked with the inner city children in London, and then, in 1989, he moved to Richmond, North Yorkshire to set up an art supplies shop.

Thorpe only began seriously painting again after his shop’s opening. He would use the art supplies around him to create works for his own walls. Though the comments were, at first, not always complimentary, admiration for his art grew. Thorpe is now one of Britain’s most collectible and sought-after artists. Thorpe has won the “Best Published Artist Award” from the Fine Art Trade Guild. Thorpe’s work is so revered because it expresses the entire range of human emotions, and tries to convey love, life, laughter, struggle, challenge, and innocence.