Michael Jurogue Johnson
Watercolors
Michael was commissioned to paint a purebred puppy for the
2009
Bernese Mountain Dog National Specialty
in Portland, Oregon. He
researched the animals and wild flowers of the Northwest. They said
it is the best watercolor he has done so far!
The portrait of Maggie, the border collie is
a good example of a watercolor painting.
Michael can get the most detail with watercolors. Maggie's owner sent many
photographs in all
kinds of positions.
Michael made sketches in watercolor of some of
the photos in a montage on one sheet of watercolor paper. He was
practicing and getting to know what Maggie looks like. Then he
painted her in a completely different pose. :) But he used the photos
to get all of her spots in the right place.
He also signed the page
of sketches and sent it with the portrait when he was done. Maggie's
owner said that she likes playing in the backyard with her red,
yellow and blue ball. She wanted Michael to print "My Sweet Maggie"
on the top like he did on his "People can learn a lot from animals"
Art Poster and she said that he could use whatever colors that he
felt like. She said that Michael captured Maggie's spirit and
character completely!
~~~~~
Dear Michael,
You are such a very talented artist. I found out about your
website from the trisomy 21 community website. At the time, I
believe your Mom was asking for pictures of our children who have
Down syndrome, for some angel cards you wanted to do. Is it too late
to include a picture of my Angel?
Our Beloved Tommy passed away when he was only 11 months old.
He had a congential heart defect and did not survive his surgery. He
was such a beautiful child, inside and out. Sometimes, it is almost
to much to bear, not being able to hold him.
Because of Tommy's heart condition, I had to keep him out of
crowded places, and such, to help prevent him from getting sick. I
was never able to get a professional protrait taken of Tommy, which
saddens me greatly.
I would be honored, if you would consider doing a watercolor of
my son, Tommy. You have a gift, and I know it would make him happy
too. I am looking forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,
Deb Dougherty
"Tommy D"
Preliminary watercolor paintings for an acrylic portrait commission."
"Thank you so much! Thank you for sending the paintings out in time
for Fathers day. The timing was perfect. Fathers day was difficult for
my husband, and seeing the portraits of Tommy, that Michael painted made
his day! What a very special memory he will have.
Thank you for sending THREE portraits. They are all so wonderful.
You captured Tommy's spirit in your paintings. You are so talented. I
wish I could paint like you do, Michael. You are so gifted!
You have brought comfort to us in our time of grief.
Tommy's sister Meghann wanted me to tell you THANK YOU! She loves
the portraits of Tommy. She likes to paint too. Meghann is 6."
A librarian commissioned Michael to paint a watercolor portrait of
her dog Ollie, an Italian Spinone hunting dog at the Chicago Dog
Beach at Belmont Harbor. It was the first time Michael painted a
Spinone.
He did a practice painting in acrylics first. The librarian
was so pleased with the two paintings that she recommends Michael to
all of her friends!
When an AKC judge saw Michael's painting of Cape Elizabeth
Lighthouse, she asked him to paint a portrait of her house in
watercolors with her dogs on the porch. He traced the lines of the
house, the windows and the doors from jpgs on the computer monitor.
Then he used photographs to draw in the fence and the steps and for a
guide when he was painting the colors and the details.
Rhodesian Ridgebacks were originally bred to hunt lions in Africa.
This pack of ridgebacks in Chicago love to go for long walks on the
lakefront and chase squirrels in the backyard. They are very
athletic dogs. Michael likes to watch them play at the Dog Beach.
The original commission was supposed to be a 9" x 12" watercolor on paper, but
Michael felt more comfortable painting it in a larger size. The best
part for Michael was when he delivered the painting in person!
Imagine his surprise when his painting of ridgebacks in the city was
used on the cover of The Rhodesian Ridgeback Quarterly.
He loves to go visit the dogs and they seem to like him!
| Michael was commissioned to paint a watercolor for the Bernese
Mountain Dog National Specialty in March 2004. He used a jpg of a
berner pup named Cabot. First Michael practiced painting puppies in
acrylics to learn how to paint the eyes better. The painting was
auctioned to raise money for the Berner Health Fund. |
 |
Commissioned for the
2007 Bernese Mountain Dog
National Specialty.
Magellan is a boston terrier pup that visited Michael's studio last
year. A zoom lens might have helped Magellan's owner to take better
photos. In the pix she provided the dog was a tiny speck in the
background and there was no close up of his face. The photos were
fuzzy and out of focus. Some young dogs like to wiggle and have a
hard time holding still for the camera! Michael chose this photo and
did the best he could. It was hard for him to distinguish between
the white patches of the snow in the background and the white patches
on the dog's coat.
Michael put the photo on a light box to help him see the details more
clearly. Using a transparent graph as an overlay he drew the design,
one square at a time, to make an outline of the dog large enough to
fit on a 9"x12" sheet of watercolor paper. A 1/8" block on the
photograph corresponded to a 1/2" block on the graph paper. It was
hard to count the tiny blocks and draw in the details. Michael kept
trying and he didn't give up.
Picture of Boston Terrier from client |
Michael's sketch |
"Dear Michael,
I just learned about your work from the NDSS website. I was awestruck when I found your website. Your work is so beautiful!
I wondered if you would consider doing a painting for me. I love all of your work, but I was especially captivated by the paintings in your Angel Notecard series.
You see I recently lost my beautiful 16 month old daughter, Lily (who had Down Syndrome) to complications of heart and lung defects.
I miss her so very much and would love to have a joyous painting of her on the wall to help me remeber the happiness she brought."
Lily's mom commissioned a watercolor painting. She wrote such a beautiful letter about her daughter that Michael felt inspired to do three paintings
to honor Lily's memory.
The first was a transparent watercolor. He traced a large jpg of Lily's face from the computer monito and tried to copy the colors with delicate washes and thin glazes. He painted a swirl of butterflies around her face.
Lily loved cats and her first word was "Kitty Cat". Michael traced a jpg of Lily sitting up with the aid of a pillow. It was hard for him the see the colors in the photo because the image was lit from the back.
Michael took his time and did the best he could to paint the little girl with acrylics. He replaced the pillow with a fluffy whiet cloud and included several angel kittens.
Finally Michael painted a portrait of Lily sitting in a garden, using opaque watercolors, the medium that he used for the notecards. He traced a jpg from the computer monitor and he referred to an ink jet print while he was painting at his worktable
to help him capture the details. It was difficult because the image was blurry and it was lit from the back so her face was in shadow. The flowers are tulips, bluebells and primroses.
Portrait of Bernese Mountain Dog puppy for the 2006 National Specialty
An occupational therapist in Arizona commissioned Michael to paint a
5x7 gouache (opaque watercolor) portrait of Jacob, a baby boy with
Down syndrome who passed away. The painting was a special gift for
Jacob's parents. Michael worked from a tiny wallet sized photo. He
used a special lighted magnifier. The fingers and toes were difficult
for him to see. He kept trying and he didn't give up. The therapist
said that the family didn't have many pictures of the baby. They were
thrilled with the way Michael captured his spirit and will always
treasure the painting.
5" X 7" watercolor
memorial portrait of
Elijah.
"Enclosed is the pin with the photo of Elijah.
Unfortunately it is the best photo we have of Eli. he spent most of
his short life in the hospital attached to machines. He was
tiny--only 8 pounds at 6 months old. He was also very beautiful!
Seemed wise. He endured much but was also blessed with a loving &
dedicated family. His mother Sarah and sister Olivia moved two hours
from home to stay with him. His dad, Gary travelled every weekend to
be with him. They never lost hope for their boy."
Emma, Jared and Abbey
"I am writing to ask if Michael might be able to draw a portrait of
my three small children. I would like to purchase the portrait as
well as copies of it as Christmas presents for family.
"This is what I am planning - I would like the orginal painting for my
husband and our family. Then I would like to purchase prints to
frame for 2 sets of grandparents and 2 aunts. I also may purchase
smaller prints to be given to greatgrandparents and possibly other
family. I also would be interested in making some notecards to be
used as Christmas Cards.I am planning to do most of my Christmas
shopping with you!!!
"I have gathered several pictures of each of the children. A bigger
head shot of each along with a few others that show their true smiles,
etc... I think I would like watercolors with some sort of
outdoors/cheery background maybe like the kids are in the backyard.
I really liked Michael's spring notecards line. I liked the flowers,
sunshine,butterflies etc."
Michael picked out his favorite pictures of each child. He traced
Jared's school picture first and made the drawing larger with a
photocopy machine. He referred to six different photos to paint the
faces of the girls and three pictures of children from magazines to
complete their bodies. The garden and the bunnies are from his
imagination.
The client was billed for an illustration job. Michael charged $15 an
hour for time actually spent drawing and painting for his labor, the
cost of materials, actual printing costs for the color reproductions,
and shipping. The customer who orders an illustration owns the
copyright so she can print the image on t-shirts, tote bags and
coffee mugs and share it on The Internet.
"Michael and Robin,
What a wonderful surprise!
I am guessing it will be my very best present of all this Christmas!
-As well as others too! Thanks you so ----much! I am very pleased!
Christmas Blessings!"
Portrait of Murphy,
the poodle-labrador retriever mix
11" x 15"
transparent watercolor and gouache
on paper
Oil Paintings
Portrait of 3 sisters, Hannah Olivia, Audrey and Madeline. Oil on canvas. This portrait was
commissioned for a Fathers Day present. The client chose ten colors from a Winsor & Newton color chart
so the painting would match her decor. Michael painted baskets of rasberries, apples and tomatoes
to be sure to include all the colors she wanted. He enjoyed eating the fruit and tomatoes when he was
done painting them! Michael took his time and did the best job he could. He was able to get a good likeness
and the painting was delivered several days before Fathers Day.
"The package has been received safe and sound and the painting is
lovely. My huband will surely cherish it. I thank Michael
for the wonderful gift for my husband."
Hi Michael,
Thank you for painting my children. I am very excited to have it done.
The pictures with Macy and her brother Caedmon are my favorite (except I don't like her mouth puckering and milk on her face). She has a cute smile.
I also have some close ups of just Macy and a couple of just Caed.
If these are not what you need or you would like me to send more please email me. I have no problem sending more.
Thank you!
_______________
Winner of the Greenville SC Buddy Walk raffle prize of a hand painted gift certificate that was redeemed for a portrait of two children painted by Michael Johnson with oil paints on canvas.
The portraits of Kodi the Bernese Mountain Dog and Libby the Golden
Retriever with the red carnations and daisies are both early oil
painting commissions.
Michael cannot achieve the detail with oils,
that he can with acrylics and watercolor. His oil paintings are
softer, filled with light, movement and color, and are almost like
Impressionism.
Kodi's owner is thrilled with the way that Michael
painted her dog's lustrous black coat. Michael does not own a tube of
black oil paint. He mixed different dark shades of blue, brown, red,
green and put them in little strokes next to each other. It looks
black and silky, but it has great depth and movement like the rest of
the painting. Kodi looks like he will jump right off the canvas and
come over for a belly rub!
Michael is getting better with details and conformation. The
portrait of Fred the dachshund was painted from just 4 casual photos
his owner had around the house.
Michael wanted the painting of Fred
to be on his own level. He wanted to paint the dachshund running
around and he wanted to paint the world the way that Fred might see
it. The photos were mostly taken from above. Michael looked at doxies
on the Internet and practiced drawing them. He used some conformation
drawings and that helped him a great deal. Then he looked at the
photographs to draw the details of Fred's body and face. He sent
copies of his sketches and a small preliminary acrylic painting of
Fred the dachshund to the customer and she picked out what she liked.
She wanted her dog in a summer garden with trees in the background.
She is very pleased with the way that Michael painted Fred. He is a
very muscular and a very active dog. Michael signed and sent his
sketches to the customer so she has many original works of art to
frame and display.
The website
www.michaelsart.landofpuregold.com has an article about a
painting of a child and a golden retriever commission.
The portrait
of Joshua and Nutmeg is a large oil painting on canvas. The client is
very happy with the portrait. And with all of the preliminary
paintings and sketches that Michael sent her, she has many nice
paintings to hang on her wall. Months after the painting was finished
Nutmeg the golden retriever passed away suddenly.
"I have some sad news. Nutmeg passed away this week and we are
heartbroken. The vet says the blood work showed she had some kind of
infection but we didn't notice she was really sick until it was too
late. She died about an hour after we brought her to the animal
hospital. Joshua is missing her. He asks for her. We are so grateful
to have the painting of Joshua and Nutmeg that Michael did. He
captured her essence so well and we will always have that to remember
her by and something that Joshua can see so he will never forget her.
Our personal vet thinks she may have eaten some poisonous mushrooms
but we do not know for sure."
Reilly is an English Springer Spaniel that was painted in oils for
a special surprise birthday party at an elegant country club.
The birthday girl's favorite flowers are gladiolas. Michael made a
special trip to the farmers market to pick out the flowers in all of
her favorite colors. The strokes of paint in the sky and the flower
stalks suggest movement and a windy day.
"American Indians Of The Old West" is one of a pair of oil
paintings that was commissioned by a NY entrepreneur in 2000 who
bought one of Michael's horse paintings at auction. Michael did
extensive research for these paintings.
Old Arizona Highways
magazines were useful to learn the terrain of the old west.
Michael
found inspiration in a book he found at the Art Institute of Chicago
about Native American artists painting scenes from their daily life.
He was also influenced by the Taos artists, Georgia O'Keefe and
Thomas Hartley.
"Indian Sketch 3" and the Indian paintings on the Sold
Paintings page are some of the preliminary sketches that Michael did
to communicate his ideas to the client before he started on the commission.
 |
 |
The White Poodle and the Golden Retriever with the Gray Tabby Cat
are both oil painting commissions that Michael finished in 2002.
The bright objects in the sky are paragliders.
The portrait of the German Shepherd and the Bichon Frise Poodle mix (Yoni and Jessie)
is an oil painting that Michael started in the fall of 2003 and
finished in 2004.
His work on the painting took longer because of the
demands of the Christmas Rush and because of some work he did for
Down syndrome organizations. The eyes of the dogs add depth to the
painting. They show real expression and are not just opaque spots of
color.
The family of Yoni and Jessie wanted Michael to paint their
backyard with grass and white hydrangea bushes, no colorful flowers.
Michael cheated a little bit and added tiny flowers in all colors of
the rainbow to the grass. The tiny spots of color add light and
interest to the broad expanse of green. The client responded
favorably:
"We received the painting today and absolutely LOVE IT!!!
Please tell Michael that we cant thank him enough. I am sorry I was
so impatient, but seeing it on our wall in our family room was worth
the wait. Michael is so incredibly talented that I'm sure you are
extremely proud of him. He has captured the soul of Yoni and Jessie
in this painting. I look forward to showing it to all of our visitors
to our home."
Hunting in the Arizona desert
Closeup of Jake's head
Fred the Dachshund
and Cappy the mixed breed
is a holiday oil painting on canvas,
18" X 24".
Acrylics
"Wow...is all I can say !!! The picture is beautiful !! The attention
to detail is remarkable. It was delivered a few days ago & my wife
cried when she saw it. I hadn't told her it was coming. Ava & Zoe can't stop looking at it.
I'll be getting it framed this
week. It's going on our entry wall so it's the 1st thing you see when
you come in the door." - Ava and Zoe's dad
Jacob with puppy |
Jacob with kittens |
| Lauren - acrylic portrait on canvas
"My Mom & Dad liked the picture of
Lauren and hung it right in the entryway
where they can point it out to
visitors."
|
Lindsey and her best friends:
These are preliminary paintings Michael did to work out the design.
Lindsey's mom wanted Michael to use hydrangeas, roses or peonies. It
was difficult to paint a huge horse, a little girl and a tiny dog in
one portrait. Michael experimented with different poses until he
found one he liked best.
Lindsey and her best friends:
therapy horse Nickel
and her Bichon Frise Mig
Two years ago Nash's grandmother purchased a gift certificate. Michael painted the head of a smiling black lab with acrylics on watercolor paper. On the back of the paper was the information about the gift certificate.
Nash's grandmother framed the charming little painting and gave it to her daughter for Christmas. The family wanted Michael to paint trees and flowers in the background like the ones int he design of the Bernese Mountain Dog notecard.
They wanted wildflowers like the ones in "Garden Party 1". Michael did two watercolors to practice painting Nash and Rudy in different positions. Then he chose the photographs that he liked best.
He used 3 different photographs to paint the acrylic portrait.
The portrait of the Brittany Spaniel and the two cats was painted
for a child/s room.
The client wanted bright, fun colors. The family
lives in Illinois and Michael chose to paint a profusion of prairie
flowers in the background. He is getting better with details in
acrylic. The painting was finished with a washable matte varnish that
will protect it for many years to come.
The portrait of the mastiff puppy and the toddler is an acrylic on
watercolor board and was painted from a jpg image.
The picture was dark so it was hard to see. The customer sent additional jpgs of the puppy and the
child that were very helpful for filling in the details.
A picture of the dog when he was older helped Michael see the details of his face
and paint in the intricate patterns of his muzzle and mouth. When the
president of the American Mastiff Fanciers Club saw an image of the
painting he wanted to buy it!
"Echo In The Rocks" is an acrylic on paper. Michael painted the
Belgian Tervuren from one jpg.
The client admires Bev Dolittle
paintings and wanted Michael to do a painting with other images
hidden among the rocks and sagebrush of the desert. It was a little
too sophisticated for Michael's naïve approach to painting, but he
had painted rabbits hiding in the grass in other paintings. The
client was delighted with the idea of rabbits hiding among the
boulders. Echo likes to chase the rabbits in the desert. Michael was
very careful to limit his palette to the pastel colors of the desert
and then he added some brightly colored butterflies from his
imagination.
"American Basin, Colorado" and "Wesley And Buttercup" are both
acrylics on canvas. Wesley and Buttercup are two wire fox terriers
who live in Virginia.
Their family wanted an acrylic painting on
canvas with a moonlit beach and other animals in the background.
Michael had difficulty working from their photos. The dogs look
different depending on their haircuts!
Their colors and even their
spots change!
Frustrated because the photos did not show Wesley
standing or walking, Michael used some conformation drawings from the
AKC to draw Wesley's body. He used his light box to illuminate a
photo of Wesley's head and used graph paper to enlarge the designs.
The family was very pleased to receive this happy painting.
The painting of Hatte, the doberman on the agility course, is a 5"
x 7" acrylic on hardboard.
The client sent 2 jpgs: a close up of
Hatte's head in profile and a picture of her walking on the seesaw.
It was a rush order for a Christmas present. Michael was able to
complete the job on time because the jpgs were easy to work from.
He did not copy the images that were supplied, Michael painted his own
ideas about Hatte. She is also known as CH. Hugadobe Hatteras
Treasure ROM, CD, MAD, MX, MXJ, OAC, NJC, CGC, TDI. DPCA Top 20 Agility Finalist 2000, 2001 & 2002. Michael was able to
paint very fine details in a small space, a characteristic of
acrylics on Ampersand Hardboard.
During 2003 Michael practiced painting heads and eyes of different
breeds of dogs and cats. He is able to achieve a good likeness, but
he hasn't lost the freshness, simplicity and happiness that
characterize his early paintings.
Michael was commissioned to do a painting for the 2003 Golden
Retriever National Specialty dog show in Ohio. They wanted a painting
that would celebrate the sport of agility. The client sent Michael 5
jpgs of her dog in action. Michael used 3 of the images and added 2
dogs from his imagination. He traced the dogs from the computer
monitor onto acetate sheets. He placed the acetate sheets on the
canvas to form a loop of an agility course. Then he carefully painted
in the details and added a landscape with flowers from his
imagination.
Gus is a Bernese Mountain Dog who lives in California. His owner
wanted a small portrait of gus chewing on a stick with the ocean in
the background.
She sent many beautiful photos for Michael to work
from. He did a preliminary painting on paper exploring Gus in a
montage of different poses to practice. The coastline is from a photo
that she sent. The flowers and butterflies are from his imagination.
Michael was asked to paint four border collies and a red doberman
pinscher on a small piece of watercolor board. The client wanted to
print the design on a note card to raise money for animal rescue. And
she wanted it to be an accurate portrait of her family dogs. She sent
a few old faded photos of her dogs and a picture of wildflowers that
she wanted Michael to use in the background. It was a very difficult
project for Michael because the painting is only 8"x 10" and he had a
hard time fitting all the dogs in the small space and having them
interact. The photos were hard to see clearly. Some of the markings
on the dogs were similar and he had problems distinguishing which dog
was which! When Michael was done with the acrylic painting for the
job he painted a larger watercolor with all four dogs and the
client's horse running through a field of wildflowers.
Scout and Rootie are two labrador retrievers who live in Georgia.
Their family (including a teen born with DS) commissioned Michael to
paint a portrait of the dogs as a Christmas present for their mom.
They wanted brightly colored flowers in reds, magenta and pinks like
the ones in the garden photo that they sent. It was the first time
Michael painted a dark chocolate lab. He was surprised to see so much
purple in the brown dog. The mom emailed Michael the following:
"WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!! We love the painting. You really captured both
dogs. From the sketches, I know how hard you worked on Rootie
(the chocolate lab) and Scout is smiling (she really does smile).
The person who is really smiling is me. I love the painting so much.
I have it on a kitchen wall where I see it the most and it looks
out over the back yard and pool where the dogs love to be
(when they are not sleeping on the sofa as they are now).
I love the flowers. The colors brighten the kitchen.
Michael you are so talented. Thank you for sharing the talent with
us. You are also an inspiration to other people with Down syndrome."
The commission of the old yellow lab and the little girl was
painted for a family who bid the most at the NDSS Gala Benefit
Auction in New York City.
They wanted pink and purple flowers to match the colors of the living room in their parents' house. The
flowers are hollyhocks, primroses and snapdragons. The client responded:
"It looks wonderful, but now we may want to commission
another painting
of Mulligan with our other daughter!"
Michael was commissioned to paint two more acrylic portraits of Mulligan the yellow labrador retriever. The family wanted a portrait
of the dog with their other daughter, Molly. They wanted Michael to use colors that would harmonize with the original painting of Mulligan and Caroline.
There were no pictures of Molly and the dog together, so Michael had to improvise and put 2 pictures together like a collage.
Michael chose an image of the dog wading through a field of deep grass from the images that they sent.
A photo of Molly holding a bag of potato chips was photographed from above and the sun was on the right, so the perspective and the lighting were simialr to the jpeg of Mulligan.
Michael used his light box to illuminate the photo from the back so it was easier to see the colors and shadows of the face as he painted. From a Google search for pink wildflowers that grow in Connecticut, he chose wild geraniums, bergamot and blazingstars.
Referring to pictures in an old wildflower seed catalog, Michael drew the pink flowers on the canvas.
The whole family is happy with the painting. They said Michael really captured the spirit of the dog and the little girl.
Michael was commissioned to paint another portrait of Caroline and Molly with Mulligan and Cameron the cat. The client wanted fall colors, reds, greens and tans to harmonize with the decor.
This was a complex project. There were no photos
of the children and animals together and the painting had to be completed and shipped in 2 weeks. We broke it down into simple jobs that Michael could handle.
Michael used parts and pieces of photos and jpegs and put them together like a collage. An image of the dog relaxing on the tile floor provided the composition for the painting. First he painted the cat, then the floor tiles, then the dog. Autumn
leaves scattered on the taupe floor tiles provided the fall colors. Next he traced a candid jpeg of the girls sitting and embracing, enlarged the line drawing and transferred it to the canvas. Then he traced
the faced directly from small photos and did his best to copy the colors.
The client said that the painting arrived on time and it is very cute!
The photo of the Airedales was taken with a flash through a glass door which was streaked with ice and mud. We took a picture of the small photo with a 35mm SLR camera and had it developed with a Kodak Picture CD.
Kodak Perfect Touch Developing sharpened the blurry image and Michael was able to trace it from the computer monitor to see the details more clearly. First he did a watercolor sketch to learn how to paint the dogs and to begin to distinguish the patterns of colors on their coats and the anatomy of their bodies.
Then he did a head study in acrylics to work on their expressions and their individual markings.
Finally he painted the dogs with acrylics on canvas. He decided to keep the snowy background. The momma dog has rounded up her puppies after playing in the snow and is waiting at the door, pleading to be let in. She has her paw on one little rascal's shoulder, keeping him in line!
The client has several paintings of her dogs to hang on the wall.
Brian's mom read an article about Michael's angel notecards in her local DS newsletter. She commissioned an acrylic painting of her own little angel to begin the healing
process and to remember her son's gentle and joy filled spirit. Michael traced the little boy's face and right arm from an enlarged photograph.
He used pictures in baby magazines to draw in the legs and the feet. One of Brian's favorite toys was a butterfly. His mom wanted a painting of her son with angel wings, sitting outdoors
on grass. She suggested that Micheal might include a shaft of sunlight coming down from the clouds, butterflies and a shady
tree in the background.
It was too complicated for Michael to fit everything in the small painting. There is a suggestion of a halo in the sky above the little
boy's head and a patch of sunlight in his hair.
This is a preliminary painting in acrylics of Raphaela, a little girl with DS who lives in Australia. The flowers are Alphine Forget-me-nots that Michael copied from a calendar. He copied an Austrialian species from his butterfly book and painted the wings with blue interference paint, so they shimmer just like the real butterfly's wings.
Portrait of Raphaela,
Acrylics on board, 11" x 15" Michael traced a photo of Raphaela in her pretty party dress and painted her in a garden from his imagination. Michael likes to look for wild bunnies on his walks around the community. He often includes them in his paintings.
"Micheal's done a absolutly wonderful job on the painting, it just
came back from the framers yesterday and its now taking pride of
place on our walls!! He's very very gifted, i wish i could paint that
well!
Hope you've been keeping well, and Thanks once again!!!
Regards, Eden Davidson"
Portrait of Marie Colaneri and her chihuahua, fox terrier, cairn terrier, west highland white terrier and two cats. Acrylic on canvas.
One day when Marie was visiting the animals at Lamb's Farm she discovered Michael's artwork at the Buddy Walk. It was serendipity! She knew right away that she and Michael shared a common bond, the love of animals.
Marie said that she liked the expressions on the animals faces, the colors, the positive energy and the happiness in his paintings. She asked if Michael could paint her chihuahua.
Months later her family commissioned a portrait of Marie and the family pets. Michael remembered meeting her at the Buddy Walk.
He really liked her. This painting was a very special opportunity for him.
"I received the picture of Marie and it is lovely. Thank you so much
for depicting her in such a thoughtful, loving way. You really
captured her personality."
Marilyn Damon
Joey, LD and Punkin, acrylic on canvas portrait of 3 cocker spaniels and 2 parakeets
"The painting just arrived. It is wonderful! Michael has captured
the eyes and the souls of each of these doggies! And the parakeets!
What an artist he is! The others will be framed also as they are
just as wonderful. Thank you so much."
Montages of each of the three dogs.
Portrait of artist Janet Jones,
9" X 12" acrylics on canvas.
In November 2005 Michael's painting "Moonsong 30" was published on
the cover of The American Journal of Public Health.
http://www.ajph.org/content/vol95/issue11/cover.shtml
A family in Massachusetts liked the image so much they commissioned
Michael to paint the beach near their home with their bernese
mountain dog, two golden retrievers, a dachshund and their neighbor's
yellow lab, plus 4 or 5 other dog breeds of Michael's choice, all
having fun playing by the Atlantic Ocean. 18" x 24" Acrylics.
Colton and BeBe the Dachsund
in a Field of Bluebonnets,
acrylis on board,
8" X 10".
"Memorial Portrait of Baby Luke"
9" X 12" acrylics on canvas
Thank you Michael--
I can't express in words or thoughts how much my painting of my son
Luke means. I just love that you put in exactly how I think of him in
heaven. We are especially happy you put a golden retriever in the
picture. Also Luke running healthy in overalls just makes my heart
full. he was never that way on earth. We are grateful beyond words.
You have a great talent. You've helped more than I can say.
Steve, Deanna, Matt, Lauren and Alondra
Michael:
Thank you for the marvelous paintings of Winnie and me. They are so
joyful, which is exactly how I feel when we are out for a drive. The
pastor at my church was doing a sermon series called "Masterpieces"
when the painting arrived. I showed him your painting and he used it
as a backdrop for his sermon that following Sunday. I received a lot
of compliments about it after the service. It gives me so much joy
when I see people with Down syndrome doing such marvelous things. It
gives me a lot of hope for Jonathon. I hope to meet you in person
some day.
Jill
"9x12 acrylics
on canvas portrait of Mayson,
a little girl born with
Down syndrome".
"When I opened the package with the painting Michael did of my son Blair
and his girlfriend Susie, it took my breath away. Michael captured them in every way.
Everyone who has seen the painting comments on how they knew exactly who it was,
no questions asked, the second they saw it. I still find myself stopping to enjoy
Michael’s accomplishment every time I pass the painting now framed and hanging in my living room.
I wish everyone could feel the joy I feel when I pass the painting. I highly recommend
commissioning a painting of a loved one by Michael, having it in your home will warm you heart."
Gail
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