Welcome to my site! My name is Michael Griffin - I am an Emily Carr University Fine Arts grad and specialize in realistic painting and drawing. I love drawing, sculpting and photography, but I especially love painting - working with the human figure and doing portraiture. Most of my work is figurative and is done in a realistic style - it mostly deals with spiritual and religious themes. I prefer to think of the subject matter as fairly open, not specifically dealing with one particular faith, but rather dealing with personal convictions and and truths that one may live by. I love painting with oils, the flexibility that oil paint has as a medium is fabulous. Most of my work is done sort of like a fresco, on plaster panels that I make myself. I believe when it comes to realism, all of the disciplines - drawing, painting and sculpture - go hand in hand. Like learning scales with an instrument, drawing a fundamental skill that you need to compose your music. I discovered painting by accident actually, but quickly fell in love with oil paint and all the flexibility that the medium provides. Some of my favourite artists are William Adolphe Bouguereau, Lord Frederic Leighton, John William Waterhouse, Monet, Rodin, Bernini, Caravaggio and Henri de Tolouse Lautrec. My biggest influences as far as technique is concerned would be Caravaggio and Bernini. Of all the artists I've mentioned, I think Caravaggio is the most influential to me. Caravaggio's use of light and dramatic shadows is what I try to capture with my work. I studied Japanese sculpture in Art School but when working with the figure in a classical western style, Bernini's work has that breath taking effect and that quality is something also try to work towards. I feel that we have gotten away from key values and traditions that kept us going for hundreds, even thousands of years. Though progress is good and even though change is not only inevitable but necessary, I feel that quite a lot of damage has been done - damage that has been done in the name of progress and change but with very often underlying selfish and greedy motives. With my work I try to remind people of what I feel we are forgetting as we develop into a consumer oriented and egocentric society. Both with subject matter and technique, I try to make a return to where our western culture came from - Using traditional techniques and materials I try to talk about the good values that i feel many have dismissed in the name of progress. Art, like language is a powerful thing and can be used to say so many things. Painting can be such a dramatic medium. During a trip to Italiy a few years ago, I had the honour of recieving painting lessons from Caravaggio himself at the Galleria Borghese in Rome... Being able to study his work up close was an honour that I couldn't have paid for. Being able to paint like Caravaggio is like my own quest for the holy grail.
A fascination with drawing and painting began at a very early age for me and as other children moved on to other subjects and pastimes, I never let go of my pencil and paints.
While studying at the Emily Carr University I also spent time as an apprentice sculptor. Figure drawing and Anatomy were two areas of study that I felt drawn to and even though I loved sculpture, they became my focus. After graduation I began traveling around the United States, doing portraiture in Texas (where I further developed skills through attending sculpture classes at the Elizabet Ney museum in Austin) and mural work and trompe l'oeil in Atlanta Georgia (where I also began teaching private drawing lessons). In 1999 - 2000, I was fortunate enough to set up a small painting studio in Dublin, Ireland and participate in drawing classes with a figure drawing society at Trinity College.
A strong desire to serve and help others has since led me to a full time career as a Firefighter and a part time career in the Armed Forces where I am training to be an Army medic. These career choices have helped give me a new perspective on the world around us and provide a constant inspiration for new work. After a brief hiatus I am rediscovering my passion for figurative art and explore new ways of using my medium in my studio in beautiful downtown, Vancouver.
celtic_savage_hotmail.com
(604) 644 - 1430
www.cyclingforwishes.blogspot.com
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