Born in Falmouth, Michael Canney studied at Redruth and Penzance Schools of Art from 1940 to 1942 followed by Leonard Fuller’s St. Ives School of Painting. In 1947 he joined Goldsmiths' College School of Art, where he was a contemporary of Bridget Riley and, as he became more focused on abstraction, meeting Victor Pasmore. Moving in the West Country art community, he also met Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth, collaborating with Hepworth on a sculpture exhibition in 1957. He was close friends with Peter Lanyon and Patrick Heron as well as mixing with art circles which included Robert Adams and William Scott.

In 1958 his work evolved, influenced by abstract expressionism and meetings with artists including Mark Rothko. From 1970 onwards, he began to paint in the Constructivist tradition, using asymmetrical constructions and abstract forms. From the early 80s onwards Canney began to experiment with the medium Alkyd Oil, the properties of which allowed him to paint with a precision not possible with slow drying oils. By the 1980s he began applying the numerical traditions of Constructivism to his paintings, deconstructing shapes, specifically the square, using numerical sequences and fractional division. His white reliefs of the late 70s and early 80s were stark and minimalist, ‘to master the simple in order to proceed to the complex’ he said.

His later one man shows included Newlyn Art Gallery in 1983; Prescote Art and Design in Edinburgh in 1984 and Belgrave Gallery in 1990. Plymouth City Art Gallery and the Imperial War Museum, as well as several other public collections, hold examples of his work.