Painter who gained a first-class degree in painting from Manchester Polytechnic in 1986, then his master’s in fine art from University of Ulster, Belfast, in 1989. He received the Prince’s Trust Award in 1990, in 1993 the Victor Treacy Award at Butler Gallery, Kilkenny. Took part in numerous exhibitions and tours, including British Telecom New Contemporaries, 1989–90; Shifting Borders, commissioned by Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, as part of a European Arts Festival, 1992; and in 1994 Beyond the Partitions, organised by Queen Street Studios, Belfast, with which he was associated. Minnis was co-founder and secretary of FlaxArt Studios, where he was based. In 1993 he was invited to put on a solo show at Werkstatt Galerie, Bremen, in Germany.