Michael McSorley
Milford, DE
My oil paintings reflect how light lays on a surface and my knowledge of form, line, design, and color interaction create the mood and sense of place desired.
MessageMike was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He had an early affinity for art, making drawings and doodling during his classes. He attended the nearby Indiana University of Pennsylvania majoring in Studio Art. There he developed a desire to paint from life, often traveling out into the countryside or setting up a still-life. After College he added to his training by taking workshops and classes by local and national artists, which continues to this day.
His playful still lifes, analytical eye and empathy have earned him some recognition. Color is an important aspect of his work and early influences were Hopper, Monet and Sargent.
Mike’s work has been shown in regional and national shows, a handful of solo shows and has won some awards. He was awarded FY20 & FY21 Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program Grants by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. In 2019 he was accepted as a Torpedo Factory Art Center Eligible Artist. HIs piece Eckington Korner was acquired for The Washingtonia Collection through the DC Creates! Public Art Program in 2016.
Besides the upcoming exhibition at the Brentwood Arts Exchange (Jan 25 to March 20, 2021), Mike is exhibiting at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD, until Feb. 7, 2021. An upcoming show at The Arts Club of Washington is in May 2022. He had solo shows at the Hill Center in Washington, DC (2019); The Art League Gallery in Alexandria (2018); the 43rd Street Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA. (2014), and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, PA. (2014). Later that year the piece Possessions was created for the Westmoreland's Peddling Personalities exhibit. A Fellowship to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts occurred in 2015.
Mike has 2 grown daughters and moved to Washington DC with his wife in 2015. His studio is at White Point Studio in Mt. Rainier and he paints most days.
Statement
Statement
My paintings are a continuation of my childhood admiration and affinity for objects. At the age of 8, I was taking photos with an old film camera. My pictures of bicycle wheels, sewage pumps and other inane objects vexed my parents but predicted my future creative production. I developed a sensitivity for the mundane. Bored with school, I filled the margins of my notebooks, turning circles into spheres, creating 3 dimensional drawings from any shape or printed word. Attributing personality and life to objects matured into an empathy for them which pervades my current work. Each object, place or person has a spirit that comes from their conception. There is a spark of the designer within it. In the process of painting something, I am respecting that fire of creativity while giving the painting its own artistic force. Like the shaman who painted the mammoth to capture its spirit.
I like the paradox of painting common things, which then become ‘paintings’ which may be seen as valuable and somehow more important, but the painting is just another object. My process has been augmented with color theory, atmosphere, edge quality and experimentation.
Some of my work involves the process of scraping, wiping, and distressing the painted image, and then recreating it. This creation, destruction, and evolution helps find the life that the object possesses. The prior images may remain or be obscured, but the remnants are there. It is an analogy for life, scarred but surviving. Sometimes the image is drawn in using graphite or paint and brushed around with thinner. The ground color is blocked in, pulling the drawing into the paint, and using it to define and tone the edges. This layer is thin, and the ground of the board can reflect through. This increases the intensity of the color and by brushing, scraping, and rubbing, the color can be accented. I am constantly learning and experimenting with my paintings.
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