About the Artist

Michael’s fascination and ability in art have been apparent from an early age. While growing up in  Nashville,  TN, he actively pursued what artistic avenues he could, taking lessons in various media, studying art history, and visiting all the art collections that were available to him. 

Michael was fortunate to travel a good deal when he was younger. He believes it  fostered an appreciation for the profound effect place can have on a person. When he was fourteen, the  Griffin family took a cruise up  Alaska’s  Inside Passage.  The experience sparked Michael’s interest for the outdoors, and his imagination wandered from the boat and coastal towns to exploring the mountains. Two years later to satisfy his new fascination with the West, he took a seven week backpacking trip starting from Jackson Hole, Wyoming spanning the American Northwest of Montana, Idaho,  Oregon, and Washington. He followed up the next summer with seven weeks of backpacking, canoeing, and kayaking in  Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Although he was not yet painting the landscapes, their visual power left an indelible mark. This early exposure to the pristine wilderness of the West would eventually lead him back to  Jackson Hole in pursuit of his art education.

In 2002, Michael graduated from  Wake Forest University with a BA in English and a minor in Studio Art. After graduation, he moved to  Atlanta and attended the  Portfolio Center where he would study to become a commercial illustrator. It became apparent almost immediately that his heart was tuned to fine art and oil painting rather than illustration. One instructor with a great interest in traditional painting opened Michael’s eyes to the study of plein air landscape painting.  Shortly thereafter, Michael left for the expansive scenery of  Jackson Hole where he would live, paint outdoors, and take workshops under renowned landscape painters  Scott Christensen ,  Matt Smith, and  Ralph Oberg.

The time in the West of nearly two years has shaped his convictions of what is good art. His main contemporary role models include landscape painters Clyde Aspevig and  Scott Christensen. Historical favorites are John Singer Sargent, Carl Rungius, the California Impressionists, Nicolai Fechin, Albert Bierstadt, and several French and Russian impressionists.