About Michael Stevens

I have always been an artist. My eyes are restless. They are always seeking and examining color, pattern, texture, form and shadow. We live in a world of color and I revel in it. But my mind is restless too. My degrees are in science. Science gives us the facts and art helps make sense of them. Through my work I seek to convey the intricacies of nature and civilization, at all levels; particles to politics, colors to catastrophe, the future and the past. I also create pieces that are purely… more

The Wave Nature of Life

This series explores the universal oddity of wave/particle duality. Particles as waves. Interference. The realm of possibilities as probabilities. All of this reality is wriggling, writhing and jiggling at the smallest levels. The figure, the body itself is fuzzy. Waves become consciousness. Quantum man, abuzz with different possibilities at all times. These waves spread out and connect us all. Even in the darkness. Will the waves of time propel a wave of  resistance? Will we stay afloat?

Waves  as patterns. Reminiscent of the Organics series, patterns are seen throughout nature. The wave pattern infuses reality at the smallest levels, yet composes the macroscopic world - the air, the land and the water. Our bodies. Our imaginations.
  • I Feel So Powerless These Days
    I Feel So Powerless These Days
    Acrylic on canvas. 20x16
  • Blue is for Boys and Pink is for Girls?
    Blue is for Boys and Pink is for Girls?
    Acrylic on canvas. 16x20 - 2016
  • Flesh and Blood
    Flesh and Blood
    Acrylic on canvas. 12x24 - 2016
  • Pull of Gravity
    Pull of Gravity
    Acrylic on canvas. 36x12 - 2016
  • The Wave Nature of Life
    The Wave Nature of Life
    Acrylic and marker on canvas. 20x16 - 2016
  • Paths of Least Resistance
    Paths of Least Resistance
    Acrylic on canvas. 14x18 - 2016
  • Boundary Layer
    Boundary Layer
    Acrylic on canvas. 20x16 - 2016
  • Winter Cries Alone
    Winter Cries Alone
    Acrylic on canvas. 20x16 - 2016
  • Reclamation
    Reclamation
    Acrylic on canvas. 18x14 - 2016

Organics

Repetitive patterns occur everywhere in nature, and in our lives. Heartbeats, breathing, blinking - thousands of times a day, millions of times a year. Cycles, orbits, seasons, tides. Not just motion, but the construction of all things depends on repetition. Particles, atoms, cells, planets, stars, galaxies. Pattern and repetition infuse all the Universe and all life itself. This fact is probably the one that most influences my work.

I convey the concept of repetition in nature in my work, especially the Organics series. In these acrylic paintings I explore some of the biological forms that surround us. Simplifying trees down to their minimal structural elements, leaves and sky as a background of mosaic tiles. Individual pieces that create a whole.
  • Postmeridian
    Postmeridian
    Acrylic on canvas, 20"x24", 2011. The sun is setting and a lone tree is silhouetted against the darkening sky, the stars yet to appear. My favorite time of day.
  • Variant-Four
    Variant-Four
    Acrylic on canvas, 24"x18", 2003.
  • Variant-Three
    Variant-Three
    Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas, 16"x20", 2003. Ten minutes until Spring...
  • Branching Out
    Branching Out
    Acrylic on canvas, 20"x16", 2013. A mighty tree stands proud as the moon peeks through the layers of clouds.
  • Saguaro II
    Saguaro II
    Acrylic on canvas, 20"x16", 2013. Cacti are cool...
  • No Such Thing as Perfection
    No Such Thing as Perfection
    Acrylic on canvas, 24"x20", 2011.
  • Caught in the Breeze
    Caught in the Breeze
    Acrylic on canvas, 14"x11", 2010. Seasonal exuberance.
  • The Bountiful
    The Bountiful
    Acrylic, marker, and pencil on canvas, 20"x16", 2014.
  • The Jester Tree
    The Jester Tree
    Acrylic and pencil on canvas, 16"x20", 2014.
  • October Second
    October Second
    Acrylic on canvas, 22"x30", 2003. How could an artist not love Autumn?

Visions and Observations

In these works I present a surreal vision of mankind's reckless destruction of our environment, along with a few observations and interpretations of personal isolation, life in the digital age, greed, and the loss of national and human ideals.
  • The Land of the Free
    The Land of the Free
    Acrylic on canvas, 36"x24", 2014. Our nation is often called "the land of the free", but you wouldn't always know it.
  • Sorrow
    Sorrow
    Acrylic on canvas, 36"x45", 2005. Isolation and loneliness in the social media age.
  • Missionary Position
    Missionary Position
    Acrylic on canvas, 40"x48", 2003.
  • Game Over
    Game Over
    Acrylic on canvas, 24"x36", 2014. Fun with HTML tags.
  • The Infrastructure of America
    The Infrastructure of America
    Acrylic on canvas, 18"x24", 2014. The basic infrastructure of our nation is literally crumbling all around us. Bridges, dams, highways, everything we rely on from transportation to the water supply is on the verge of failure. Our system of public works used to be the envy of the world, now it is a rusting mess.
  • ...To Your Own Tune
    ...To Your Own Tune
    Acrylic on canvas, 20"x16", 2013. Rock and roll.
  • Gorilla at the Threshold
    Gorilla at the Threshold
    Acrylic on canvas, 16"x20", 2003. Be careful what you genetically engineer!
  • A Dying Breed
    A Dying Breed
    Acrylic on canvas. 17"x43", 2001. Me vs. the world. Sometimes I actually win.
  • It Ain't Easy Being Green
    It Ain't Easy Being Green
    Acrylic on canvas, 28"x36", 2008.
  • Full Tilt Boogie
    Full Tilt Boogie
    Acrylic on canvas, 45"x35.5", 2015. When our habitat is destroyed, when our home is gone, we will have no-one to blame but ourselves. Nature will go on. Without us.

Abstracts

Creating the sensation of motion through the blending of color and shape, I like to keep the eye moving with pattern, texture, and subtle symmetries of dark and light. The eye should never rest. Even when asleep, the brain provides visual imagery and color in the form of dreams. This means that the eye demands stimulation, day or night, awake or asleep. I cannot deny that many of my abstract pieces have been influenced by dream imagery generated in my sleep.
  • Retination I
    Retination I
    Acrylic on canvas, 12"x24", 2015.
  • Mountains Out Of Molehills
    Mountains Out Of Molehills
    Acrylic on canvas, 12"x8", 2011.
  • The Carnivore Legacy
    The Carnivore Legacy
    Acrylic on canvas, 12"x12", 2012.
  • Launch
    Launch
    Acrylic on canvas, 12"x12", 2012. A lone rocket lifts off into space...
  • Electron!
    Electron!
    Acrylic on canvas, 11"x14", 2011. Quantum mechanics visualized. The electric and magnetic fields radiate out into space, while the lepton shakes and shudders through its precarious existence.
  • Elevate and Shine
    Elevate and Shine
    Acrylic on canvas, 10"x20", 2009. Molecules is as molecules does.
  • Cross-convergence
    Cross-convergence
    Acrylic on canvas, 24"x20", 2015. Second in a series of "wiggly things"...
  • There's No Such Thing As Two
    There's No Such Thing As Two
    Acrylic on canvas, 16"x20", 2009.
  • The Beauty Within
    The Beauty Within
    Acrylic on canvas, 32"x43", 2000.
  • Borders
    Borders
    Acrylic on canvas, 20"x24", 1993.