January 13th through April 7, 2017
Michael Walsh
The Michael Walsh exhibit is sponsored in part by Edward Jones and Stull, Beverlin, Nicolay & Haas, LLC.
From in the North Gallery we will feature guest painter Michael Walsh, of Kansas City. who has described his painting process as an act of worship. His easel is his altar of service and celebration. Michael loves to paint barns, streams, oceans, rivers, pastoral scenes and figurative work. Much of his work centers on Farm life and its foundational dynamic in building America, which strikes many chords among his hard working farmers, friends and family
Michael Walsh, Biography
mwalshfineart.com Michael’s art gene came to life by a ‘Paint-by-number’ set given to him by his parents at the age of seven. In 1971 Michael’s Chinook Helicopter door-gunner orders to Vietnam were averted because Michael was drawing in the army barracks with his door open. By divine intervention, a soldier stopped at the open door looking for someone to fill his position as draftsman. Making a long story short, Michael’s orders were changed to a general draftsperson working for the Battalion HQ Colonel Commander. Michael’s art would now become front and center in the Army and for life. Michael has been painting professionally now for 30 years. Michael’s work can be described as heartfelt, poetic, expressive, truthful, luminous and visually pleasing. His ultimate goal is to achieve a narrative that is simple, eye catching, visceral and convincing. A collection of expressive marks within a component shape, forms its identity, yet reads with the impression of realism. This is the exciting visual mystery and head-scratcher of the thing. Moreover, Michael’s technique is to apply his pigment with gradations of thin to thick (fat over lean) from background to foreground within the visual plane. The beauty of one simple brush stroke has the power to seize the viewer’s attention for minutes. This is what makes painting worth it all. Mike wants his audience to be able to participate and connect with his paintings, by contributing their own personal experiences to the motif in the viewing process. In doing so, his hope is that the participant would enlarge the overall sense and meaning of the painting. Michael’s work can be benchmarks and reminders for many. Michael notes, ‘the painting process’ is an act of worship. His easel is his altar of service and celebration. Michael loves to paint barns, streams, oceans, rivers, pastoral scenes and figurative work. Farm life and its foundational dynamic in building America, strikes many cords among hard working farmers, friends and family. |
Artist Statement:
What are the driving forces that compel you to want to capture and paint any particular subject matter? IMPACT First….it is the immediate optical visceral impact the subject has upon me: whether it be the dynamic overriding dramatic lighting upon the subject; whether it be the chiaroscuro interplay of warm and cool of the setting, or whether it be the overture of the design of the narrative. It is a revelation of sorts where one ‘sees things for the first time’, so to speak, a discovery of the ‘awe factor’ and unspoken beauty in the simplicities and or complexities of the thing. CAPTURING Second….It is the great need and intensity to capture the exact moment in time that is unique, identifiable, remarkable, wonderful, breath-taking and ‘otherworld’. As an artisan, I love to capture subjects that have a specific connectivity with my own set of values and visual esthetic. These are the things I naturally gravitate towards. Artisans have to be true to themselves. REFLECTION Third….It is the context, content and depth of what the artisan beholds. When I poetically interpret with brush and medium on canvas, there is a recall of notes and color sense of that particular time and space. There is a demand of skill and talent to effectively create that moment of what the creator beheld as monumental and meaningful. Reinvention and reflection are combined to create a pleasing whole. Some Recognitions:
for extended version see http://mwalshfineart.com/other1 2015 NOAPS International Online Top 150-‘Farm Fest’ 2014–Tim Murphy Art Gallery, Second Place-“Farmer Banks” 2014–Heartland Artist Exhibition, Tim Murphy Art Gallery, Purchase Award-“Broom Maker” 2011–“Strong City SF Railroad Depot” painting, Chase County, KS, selected as a Kansas Lottery Scratchers’ ticket for the year-Kansas Sesquicentennial Celebration. 2010–MidAmerica Pastel National Exhibition and Competition Winner 2008–Paint America Association “Paint The Parks” National Top 100 Competition Winner 2005-06–Arts for the Parks Top 100 Award-Bronze Medallion Marine Art Award of Merit, 2005–International Artist Magazine, “Red Onions”, published in the June/July 2005 issue Education: BA-MidAmerica Nazarene University, 1991 Teaching: Adjunct-Professor: Color Theory, Drawing, & Painting, MidAmerica Nazarene University Representation: SouthWind Gallery, KS, Signs of Life Gallery, KS, Bottonwood Art Space Gallery, KCMO Community:Northern Art League Presentation, Fairview Christian Church, ‘The Making of an Artist’, Gladstone, MO. Presentation of biographical narrative ‘The Making of an Artist’, Sketch Box Committee, KCAI. Michael has also donated his artwork to raise money for scholarships and charitable organizations: Horizon Academy, KS. MidAmerica Nazarene University Autumn Auction; Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral Dean’s Cup Auction; KCPT Auction; Plains Permanent collection at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; the Yellow House; and Missouri State University-West Plains. |