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
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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.
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.
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PostmeridianAcrylic 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.
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Variant-FourAcrylic on canvas, 24"x18", 2003.
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Variant-ThreeAcrylic and colored pencil on canvas, 16"x20", 2003. Ten minutes until Spring...
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Branching OutAcrylic on canvas, 20"x16", 2013. A mighty tree stands proud as the moon peeks through the layers of clouds.
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Saguaro IIAcrylic on canvas, 20"x16", 2013. Cacti are cool...
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No Such Thing as PerfectionAcrylic on canvas, 24"x20", 2011.
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Caught in the BreezeAcrylic on canvas, 14"x11", 2010. Seasonal exuberance.
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The BountifulAcrylic, marker, and pencil on canvas, 20"x16", 2014.
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The Jester TreeAcrylic and pencil on canvas, 16"x20", 2014.
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October SecondAcrylic 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.
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The Land of the FreeAcrylic on canvas, 36"x24", 2014. Our nation is often called "the land of the free", but you wouldn't always know it.
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SorrowAcrylic on canvas, 36"x45", 2005. Isolation and loneliness in the social media age.
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Missionary PositionAcrylic on canvas, 40"x48", 2003.
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Game OverAcrylic on canvas, 24"x36", 2014. Fun with HTML tags.
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The Infrastructure of AmericaAcrylic 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.
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...To Your Own TuneAcrylic on canvas, 20"x16", 2013. Rock and roll.
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Gorilla at the ThresholdAcrylic on canvas, 16"x20", 2003. Be careful what you genetically engineer!
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A Dying BreedAcrylic on canvas. 17"x43", 2001. Me vs. the world. Sometimes I actually win.
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It Ain't Easy Being GreenAcrylic on canvas, 28"x36", 2008.
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Full Tilt BoogieAcrylic 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.
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Retination IAcrylic on canvas, 12"x24", 2015.
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Mountains Out Of MolehillsAcrylic on canvas, 12"x8", 2011.
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The Carnivore LegacyAcrylic on canvas, 12"x12", 2012.
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LaunchAcrylic on canvas, 12"x12", 2012. A lone rocket lifts off into space...
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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.
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Elevate and ShineAcrylic on canvas, 10"x20", 2009. Molecules is as molecules does.
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Cross-convergenceAcrylic on canvas, 24"x20", 2015. Second in a series of "wiggly things"...
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There's No Such Thing As TwoAcrylic on canvas, 16"x20", 2009.
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The Beauty WithinAcrylic on canvas, 32"x43", 2000.
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BordersAcrylic on canvas, 20"x24", 1993.