MICHAEL CHRISTIE
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INTRODUCTION
Michael’s ability to capture the essence of his subjects offers a gift that is twofold: it sparks an emotional connection to the viewer and is what drives Michael to create. His unguarded perspectives accentuate the spirituality that he sees in everyday life. Michael aspires to translate the eloquence of the spoken word into the visual poetry of painting. He finds comfort in the solitude that painting allows. “In creating the artwork, I feel both lost and peaceful. The stark contrast of these emotions is one unique, I believe to the introspective world of an artist.”
Michael’s family has called West Virginia home since the 1700s. His early exposure to the country gave him an affinity for nature. Michael’s talent was greatly enhanced by his training at the Schuler School of Fine Art and an apprenticeship with Will Wilson, both in Baltimore, Maryland.
For Michael, these opportunities have presented a chance to identify with a higher purpose in art. “Art always has an element of entertainment or propaganda, but great art’s function is to make us aware of the potential of man, of the existence of God, but in those everyday things that make it so real for us,” he says. His everyday sense mixed with his classical training has interested many and he has had articles in American Artist magazine and with the Absolut Vodka campaign USA Today and Time Magazine.
After living in Baltimore and for a time caretaking a chateau in Joigny, France with his wife and first son, Michael decided, in spite of a loving things European, to return to West Virginia and is currently the artist-in-residence at historic Greenbrier Resort. He and his wife, two sons and adopted niece live in the neighboring community of Lewisburg, West Virginia.
Honors
The Greenbrier Resort "Artist in Residence"
West Virginia ABSOLUT VODKA Artist, International Campaign
The Stockholm Wine & Spirits Museum,
Permant Exhibit of ABSOLUT States paintings
American Artist Magazine & Greenwich Workshop "Emerging Artist"
Carleton Varney, Dorothy Draper Company
"Horse Race Series"
Located in the Greenbrier Resort Casino
