Michael Downs.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

BIO

Background:

Michael J. Downs was born in Vancouver, BC in 1963 and raised on the west coast of Canada. In his early years he traveled extensively with his musician parents and was greatly inspired by the arts in Europe. He was educated in both fine art as well as commercial art and spent numerous years as a freelance illustrator where he was able to hone his skills in numerous artistic styles and mediums. While successful as an illustrator, his first love still remained fine art, so several years ago he journeyed to the US’s third largest art center - Santa Fe, NM. Here he sought gallery representation for his work, and was successful on his first attempt. Since then he has established himself with several galleries in both Canada and the US, and is collected internationally. Currently he resides in Innisfail having moved there with his wife and two children to enjoy a more family oriented life. He continues to paint for his galleries, is now marketing a line of limited edition prints, is active in the local arts community, and teaches at various venues including Red Deer College (Summer Series).

Inspiration:

The Ordinary . . . “To me scenes that may daily go unnoticed by most individuals, or perhaps might be taken for granted by others can be extraordinary sources of beauty and inspiration. I was once quoted in International Artist, saying that one did not have to travel to exotic locale to find subject matter for paintings. Exciting opportunities for paintings exists everyday and everywhere (although I still have trouble convincing my students of that), if only one takes the time to see.” Figures . . . “My subjects are often figurative in nature as I find them both fascinating and challenging. They are generally solitary but always contemplative (hence my painting moniker) and comfortable, as if unaware of being studied. It has been written that I have a talent for unobtrusiveness that draws a viewer into my paintings and voyeuristically one begs to know more about my subject, evoking an intrigue in the unknown person. This is part of my goal as an artist; to captivate my audience and to assist them in seeing the beauty of people and the world through an artist’s eyes.” Light . . . “Personally I prefer to refer to it as illumination, as it holds much more meaning. To illuminate is defined both as to light as well as to clarify and enlighten. It is my goal to do both in my work. Perhaps that is why it has been suggested that my paintings appear to reveal the soul of my subject and that I transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. If anyone were to ask though, I would simply tell them, very much like the old masters, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Sargent - I just paint what I see.”

Musings:

“I’m not about “artspeak”. When I describe my work, I often relate it to music. Both my parents are classical musicians. They used to run a music camp and although I’m not musical myself, I would love to go to the camp and listen. I remember painting down by a lake with the sounds of a Mozart piano concerto drifting through the trees. It was very inspiring. To me art and live music are for enjoyment and therefore should be uplifting. I find the paintings I’m doing now of people relaxing, reading, sleeping, and at leisure, very indicative of this. “Coffee Culture” I call it. John Singer Sargent used to call it “nonchaloire” or the art of doing nothing. I find it carefree, idleness (in a positive way) - peaceful.”