About the Artist

Michael’s lifelong love of art was sparked during his childhood in Beverly Hills, California where he painted alongside his mother and two aunts, all three of whom were accomplished oil painters. Eventually, he moved from painting to other mediums and won county-wide awards for his work in ceramics. Although he started college as an art major, Michael graduated from Stanford University with a BA in psychology, and then took an even more practical direction, earning his MBA from UC Berkeley.

What followed was a decades long career in construction and real estate development, both areas that called on Michael’s artistic expression through architecture and design. During this period, Michael continued to work as a fine artist, focusing on large-scale mosaic sculptures and assemblage, often using found objects. Then, in 2011, he circled back to painting. Interestingly, Michael has partial color blindness, but what might limit someone else is just his unique way of seeing the world. He has a predilection for brighter colors that are easier to see and make a powerful impact. At times, he uses a camera to enhance the difference between colors, as a guide for the final piece. 

Since 2003, Michael has lived in Santa Barbara, California with his husband Steven, whom he met in 1981. There he designed and built their home, Pentimento. Pentimento is painting term referring to the traces of the past shining through subsequent changes. In addition to many carefully placed paintings by Michael, Pentimento is filled with treasures collected over years of travel, ephemera from scouring flea markets and antique malls, and family heirlooms. 

Michael devotes himself to working in the dedicated art studio adjacent to the main house.  His paintings have been shown locally and regionally, recognized in juried exhibitions, and sought out by collectors. Not unlike the design for Pentimento, Michael’s paintings often include unusual juxtapositions, and tend to draw the viewer in, layer by layer. Whether as still lifes, portraits, abstracts, or landscapes the paintings reflect the depth and breadth of an artistic vision that is continuing to evolve.