Opening Reception: The Paintings of Eric Michaels

The Jansen Art Center invites you to the Opening Reception for The Paintings of Eric Michaels on Thursday, February 4, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Live Music in the Piano Lounge with special guest Steve Rudy begins at 5:00 p.m.

In an article about his painting process, artist Eric Michaels once wrote, “Each of you is an individual, with unique experiences and a distinctive voice. No other human being sees, and relates, to the world the way you do. It’s imperative that your art express your single perspective on life. A painting becomes a work of art when it is imbued with your individuality.”

It is Michaels’ experiences that help create such vibrancy in the eclectic subject matter of his paintings, which reflects his extensive worldwide travel. He is renowned for his Historical and Western paintings, which are sought after by national and international collectors.

Michaels was born and raised in Illinois. As a young boy, he cultivated an early appreciation for music and art. He spent a great deal of time drawing sports figures and Disney characters, and studying guitar with an old vaudeville banjo player. With the folk scene booming in the sixties, Michaels paid his way through college teaching guitar and performing in coffeehouses.

After graduating with a B.F.A. in art, he grabbed his guitar and took off across North America. For three years, he played clubs, coffeehouses and universities from Alaska to Mexico. As the folk scene ebbed in the seventies, Michaels decided to pursue a new musical venue. He began studying classical guitar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 1983, on a music tour through the southwest, he and his wife passed through Santa Fe and decided to stay.

It is during this time that Michaels transitioned away from music and started developing his career as a fine artist. He worked as a commercial illustrator while honing his craft until he was able to transition to making a living purely from his painting.

Michaels still loves to travel. His art has taken him to exotic destinations in Africa, Europe, Central America and Indonesia. He currently lives in the state of Washington.

Michaels has exhibited at the Royal Watercolour Society in London, nine years in the Artists of America Show in Denver, and is a regular exhibitor in the Great American Artists Exhibition in Cincinnati. His paintings hang in private, corporate, museum and state collections; including the Albuquerque Museum of Fine Art, the Americana Museum, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Phillips Petroleum, IBM, Honeywell-Sperry Inc., and the State Collection of the Governor’s Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.

Michaels is a signature member of the Oil Painters of America, National Watercolor Society and the Pastel Society of America.

This exhibit will be on display through Friday, April 1. The Jansen Art Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm, until 7pm on Thursdays.

ALSO ON EXHIBIT

In addition to Michaels’ work in the Fine Art Gallery, the opening reception welcomes the work of over 20 local and regional artists in the Winter into Spring Juried Exhibit, the first open exhibition of 2016, on display throughout the art center.

In the Library Gallery, the J will exhibit the work of Jansen Art Center students of all ages.

The Piano Lounge will feature some of the jewelry and metal arts from the first annual Falling Out of the Box artist challenge coordinated by the Jansen Art Center’s Jewelry Studio.