About Me
Scott Michael is a modern impressionist focusing on the cultivation of positive energy that often emerges while painting. His study explores the deep connection between the various sensations and meanings of landscape, and this is often his primary focus. He frequently plays with sky gradients, ridge strokes, and the horizon lines of body and water.
Scott Michael uses what he calls “the horizontal way” as inspiration for his paintings. In a vertical world -- in which society heavily influences the consistent need to add more and more on the shoulders until the knees buckle, and to rise higher and higher, never reaching the “top” -- Scott Michael chooses to be horizontal. The horizontal way is a focused path that moves forward on the horizontal plain with feet firmly planted on the ground, experiencing gratitude from all around. As the gaze peers forward towards the horizon, a steady focus is revealed.
Using water along with acrylic to create a heightened depth, Scott Michael adds layers upon layers to his paintings. He intuitively begins in one direction and allows the flow of water and acrylic to gently lead him to another. This mixture of acrylic and water is mostly placed on canvas, but he paints birch board and wood, as well.
A Southern California native, Scott Michael uses the depths of his experiences with the land in his art. His years of camping, backpacking, and hiking along the myriad of vast horizons in California is illuminated in the paintings he creates. The scenes he produces often mimic the feel of vintage photography, with sunsets, sunrises, mountains, water, and sky all careening into one image captured in time.
Scott Michael resides in Thousand Oaks, California, with his family.