One of my passions for oil painting is the chance to get lost in the play of paint within areas of minute detail. Pushing about color, values and mediums to describe form, lighting effects or complex relationship of shapes is an act of creation which strikes deep to my artistic being. Through edge control, blending, superimposition, texturing, glazing, and numerous other approaches to the application of paint, I receive tremendous enjoyment from the process of discovery and implementation. I love the tactile sensation of manipulating materials, watching them interact, and struggling to make them work towards my intent. Every new image requires a modification to the approach and keeps the act of painting challenging and refreshing.
Rather than just provide the broad overview of the finished compositions, I thought to share with you intimate passages which speak to my love of imagineering, reflecting the combination of life observations with that of creative design. I bring you a step closer to my inner thoughts and methods…
Kristine PooleonThe CallingHi Michael, Thanks so much for deciding to take a look and for sharing your thoughts! I also find it intriguing to get to wal…
Kristine PooleonThe CallingI am so pleased to read your words. When we "release" work into the world, we never know who might find it intriguing, engagi…
Kristine PooleonThe CallingThank you for sharing your thoughts. One of the things I love most about art is how it can communicate across time, cultures…
Sarah FinniganonInterior Illustrations – To Green Angel TowerI'd be curious to know how you tackled the signature pages, particularly the magic/edges of the magic meeting with the white…
HalloranonInterior Illustrations – To Green Angel TowerCan you talk more about the Pool of Three Depths? That image fascinates me and I haven't read the series (yet). What's the st…
This past month I have been posting on social media a collection of paintings, my Earth and Sea series. These works originally had been created for various projects from commercial book covers to gallery exhibitions to personal works which did not have initially any...
These past few years I have had the honor to interpret a classic fantasy trilogy from the 1990's, Tad William's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series for Grim Oak Press. This trilogy culminates in the final massive tome To Green Angel Tower, and is so large it has...
In celebration of a new body of illustrated work for Grim Oak Press and the revarnishing of the epic canvas Beacons of Gondor, we will once again be welcoming visitors to our annual Open Studio in Brooklyn, New York. DONATO ARTS OPEN STUDIO 2025 Saturday September...
Stunning details. I too feel lost when working on details. That transcending phase is fascinating when any artist is lost from all the realities around him while focusing deeply.
Loved seeing the detail shots then the full composition. Thanks!!!!
Stunning details. I too feel lost when working on details.
That transcending phase is fascinating when any artist is lost from all the realities around him while focusing deeply.
The reflections off the scratches in The Mechanic's armor just boggle the mind.