News & Updates
Updates, events, & perspectives regarding the state of the arts.
5 Tiny Visions
This Saturday, July 7th at the Hive Gallery in Los Angeles is the opening of a show called "Tiny Visions". Alongside the pieces below are works from Violet Divine (my amazing wife), Martina Hoffmann, Radhika Heresy, Dan Cohen and a bunch of others (maybe two dozen other artists?)
Small (tiny) paintings like this allow for a kind of intimacy of the experience. One can imagine it at 4 or 5 feet tall but instead they are these delicate little portraits of dream-like ideas and core moments.
Interview on Inside the Rift
I had the pleasure of sharing some thoughts about art, nature, and humanity on InsidetheRift.com
"There’s no time for ego games or marketing plans when it comes to art making. It’s just art. It’s you and your chosen materials and your vision, your inspiration. You have to cut through all of the mind-games if you want to make something really wonderful."Read it here: https://www.insidetherift.net/art/2018/4/13/the-interplay-michael-divine-on-art-nature-and-metamorphosis
Commissioned Portrait: “A New Perspective”
"A New Perspective"
Acrylic/Canvas
15" x 22"
A collector of my work, Eben Pagan, commissioned me to paint a portrait of him in my style. I don't do a lot of portraiture so I enlisted Violet's help and we worked together on this painting. She is more adept at creating from real life than I am. In that way, we tend to meet in the middle as my approach generally builds up from abstraction.
Kiva – Loans that Change Lives
Some time back I loaned some money on Kiva. Then, after the allotted time, I started getting my repayments. Those payments ended up just sitting in my account there not doing much. So I started looking around and reloaning the money. A little here, a little there. Every little bit, they say, helps. Plus, these are LOANS not gifts. While there's no monetary return other than the original loan, there IS the benefit of helping others in the world.
I've looked through the various projects in the world to see what people are doing. Most are sole proprietor businesses looking to expand and grow - exactly what you expect with a business loan. There's a number of women in the Philippines who would just like to borrow some money to build themselves a sanitary toilet for their families of six or more. There's countless others who would like to grow their businesses, create more stable support systems, and so on. Some are in your own backyard. Some are on the other side of the world.
Sunrise Sunset Mural
I painted this mural for a client in the master bedroom of their custom built Craftsman home. The Craftsman/Arts & Crafts style flourished in the early 1900s and unique expressions of its ethos can be found in the art and architecture of California.
According to Wikipedia:
Aroha Chapel Altarpiece Panels in New Zealand
We created these panels, titled "Chaos & Grace", for the Wallaceville Church on location over the course of several months in the absolutely gorgeous Whiteman's Valley just outside of Upper Hutt in New Zealand. We were inspired by the sweepingly beautiful surroundings, the natural splendor, and the energizing community.
We also designed and installed the frame using local hardwoods and employing a local CNC cutter. The goal was to create something uplifting and inspiring for the community and a sense of non-denominational spirituality for the church.
Summertime Paintings 2015
Years ago I got into a kind of creative flow that went like this: winter was when I worked on large, detailed paintings while summer was for getting out and doing things and events and traveling and the like. I found myself painting and sort of hibernating during many winters because life feels quieter and more internal. It's helpful for allowing my mind and body to settle, focusing on the finer details of my work. Come summer - when life bursts with exuberant busy-ness, I'd pick up and go out and share and be more social. During those summer months, I often plan out a course of paintings to work through the winter - a general game plan, if you will - a setlist of paintings - and return to the studio.
It's like a moebius strip where I would go far enough inwards in one direction that I'd eventually circle back in the opposite direction… and then far enough out in the other direction, and so on. Back and forth, round and round.
The Dorky Painting
Back in 2003, inspired by a chapter of The Fan Man by William Kotzwinkle, I painted "The Dorky Painting." The book is one of my absolute favorite books ever. It's a hard to describe little book. But it's a perfect book if you're into that sort of thing. As Kurt Vonnegut wrote in the introduction "It's like an egg: everything that is supposed to be in there is in there." There's really nothing else like it. So this painting is based on one of the chapters in the book - "Dorky Day". I can't explain it - you just need to read it. Broadly, however, it is a chapter about clearing the cobwebs from the mind. This painting was made to help clear the cobwebs of my mind.
In any case, on a whim the other night, I looked up Mr. Kotzwinkle's website and sent him a link to the painting along with a short note of thanks. Below, is his response.
Convergence Mural in Venice Beach
We had the pleasure of painting the west facing side of the landmark church located at the corner of Rose and Third streets in Venice Beach.
Created to mesh with the existing murals - the Hamsa styled hand and the murals to the left and right, it is a true convergence of colors and forms.