Eric Michaels, a Birch Bay resident and nationally acclaimed painter, will introduce his work to the local community at Jansen Art Center in Lynden.
Michaels has been a professional artist for 35 years.
“I haven’t had a real job since ’72,” he joked. “I was a musician before I became a full-time painter.”
He spent a few years early in his career working in commercial art before turning to fine art full time. Michaels was born and raised in Illinois, but spent most of his life in New Mexico and southern Colorado. He and his wife moved to Birch Bay last fall.
“We were in the southwest for so long, I felt like I wanted to do a complete 180 and see somewhere completely new,” he said.
Michaels specializes in painting oil and watercolor outdoor scenes, what’s known as en plein air. He’s painted landscapes on four different continents and throughout the United States.
His work has been featured in more than two dozen international publications, including The Artist’s Magazine, Plein Air Magazine and Art of the West.
Source: Birch Bay artist Eric Michaels featured in Lynden art show
