Michael Coleman is a self-taught artist and has worked in a variety of styles. In his earlier works, he frequently cut and stitched his canvases, or combined canvas, plastic and leather. He now mostly creates monochromatic abstracts. Coleman has received a number of awards including the Carroll Award, Irish exhibition of Living Art, 1977; the Patrons Award for painting, EV+A, Limerick 1979 and 1980. He exhibits regularly in Ireland and abroad, and his work is included in many public collections.