PIPEDREAM

When Michael made the leap from illustration to fine art, he followed a desire to have deeper conversations through his art. This gallery painting was inspired by a late afternoon walk and the frustration Michael felt seeing trash discarded carelessly in a field. Instead of clearing his head through exercise and fresh air, he carried tension back to the studio as he ruminated on how thoughtless people can be. The painting presents opportunity for a more intentional approach. Rather than casting eyes down and fixating on all of the negatives the world has to offer, we can choose to lift our focus to the unsullied sky and appreciate all the beauty nature has to offer. Inadvertently Michael implied a third possibility represented by the woman whose eyes are pressed closed as she turns her attention inward to the realms of imagination and dreams.