Merchants Millpond State Park #1 - 36x24" Acrylic on Canvas

In mid October we visited Merchants Millpond State Park in Northeast North Carolina. The park is a combination of a forest and swamp with hundreds of places to explore. We took a canoe out on a beautiful day and I immediately began taking pictures. The sunken cypress trees and spanish moss created beautiful pictures which opened me up to all kinds of painting possibilities.

The painting shown is the first of many that will materialize from the trip to this park. Glazing and impasto work along with vibrant colors make this work pop off the wall and come to life.


Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com



Kure Beach: A View from the Pier - 40x30" Acrylic on Canvas

This is probably the most involved painting I have done up to this point in my career. The subject originated from a trip to the beach we took in early May. The summer tourist season had not yet hit so the beach was not jammed with people. I think in most cases where paintings involve people they are the main focal point, I made an effort in this painting for this not to happen. The sky, the water and the beach each have unique elements - each of the three elements of the painting were done at separate times and in a way I thought of these as three separate paintings. The people and the houses were the last parts of the paintings done. This worked out well; After I had finished the beach I was pleased with the painting, therefore I did make the people and houses deliberately complex that they might take away from the larger composition.

Despite the lengthy amount of time it took me to complete this work, I really enjoyed painting it. The color scheme is one I have rarely used and the painting techniques really allow for this to stand out. Despite the complexity of shapes I feel the painting is quite soothing and accurately displays atmosphere and time of day and year.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com



Cedar Island #1 - 24x36" Acrylic on Canvas

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com


Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Cedar Island #2 - 24x36" Acrylic on Canvas

I've received alot of positive response from the the initial painting I did of Cedar Island. This painting is inspired from that same view, but encompasses more of the land and a second waterway.

I am sure the first the thing that one notices is the depictions of the clouds. A few people have seen this painting, and people tend to love or hat this idea. My intent was to make the clouds flowing, but to confine them within a few centralized cloud masses. I felt the smaller shapes captured within larger shapes added a further element of interest.
 
 It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted.  It is presented as an unframed work

 It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted and is currently available at the Little Art Gallery in Raleigh (Cameron Village) littleartgalleryandcraft.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com



Merchants Millpond State Park #2 - 20x16" Acrylic on Canvas

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

I painted this work a little differently from my other paintings in that I painted it out doors.  No it was done in plein aire, I used a reference photograph – but the natural light provided something that cannot be replicated in my studio.  My studio is equipped with lighting to replicate natural sunlight, but there definitely is a difference in real out door lighting.  Even if my eyes did not notice the change, perhaps I was a little happier by painting outdoors,  The painting has some non traditional yellows and oranges that I would not normally use – a change of pace is always good.

It is a 1-1/2" canvas presented in a Black Floater Frame.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com



Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

This is the second painting I completed that is inspired by a recent trip to Lake Waccamaw near Wilmington, NC. The sky reflects a bit of organized chaos of varying shapes, colors and symbols. The white outlines representing clouds were placed over the part of the color/shape pattern that moves diagonally rather than horizontally across the canvas. Because the leaves of the big tree encompassed so much of the sky, I decided to continue the same pattern - this time using varying shades of greens and yellows. These leaves are accentuated with a glazing medium-fluid acrylic mixture that is evident in the dot patterns.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com



Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

My favorite area of Eastern North Carolina is Croatan Forest.  Situated between New Bern and Atlantic Beach the landscape is diverse enough where one might see towering pine trees and dense forestry adjacent to a sandy beach and serene coastline.  I created three paintings from the pictures I took.    My favorite of these is Flanners Beach  this really illustrates a wild and diverse forest scene in contrast to the serenity of the beach at sundown.

In 2009 this piece was accepted into the Visual Art Exchange SCOPE juried show. It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted.  In 2010 The piece was juried into the 20th annual Mid-Atlantic Art Exhibition and is currently on display at the d"Art Center in Norfolk, VA.

It is presented as an unframed work with all sides painted to match compositon.

 It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted and is currently available at the Little Art Gallery in Raleigh (Cameron Village) littleartgalleryandcraft.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com



Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Hoop Hole Creek is in Atlantic Beach, NC.  I visited the area in 2009 and took a lot of pictures, but nothing really popped out.  I knew if I were to paint this area, the painting rather than the location would need to be my area of focus.  I decided to create a polytich of 12, 10x10” panels.  I painted each panel separately and tried different painting techniques on each.   When finished they were all mounted onto 36x48” oak board to create a full composition.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

A painting derived from a picture I took while visiting Fort Macon in Atlantic Beach, NC.  I believe Fort Macon was constructed in the early 1700’s and served prominent roles in the American Revolution, Civil War, WWI and even WWII.   My view of Fort Macon is one interpretation of a view seen by multitudes of men over a course of 300 years.  What I saw was an interesting landscape of twisted and winding trees offset by a brilliant blue sky.  At different points in time this same view might have had pirates storming the fortress or a brilliant blue sky replaced by exploding mortar fire.

It is presented in a shiny silver metal frame. and is currently available at the Vision Gallery in Atlantic Beach, NC.  www.twogalleries.net

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Cotton Field Off Highway 64 #5 - 18x24" Acrylic on Canvas

It is presented as an unframed work with all sides painted to match compositon.

 It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted and is currently available at the Little Art Gallery in Raleigh (Cameron Village) littleartgalleryandcraft.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Bear Island:  A View from the Surf - 20x16" Acylic on Panel

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com



Bear Island:  A View from the Surf - 20x16" Acylic on Panel

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com



Atlantic Beach - 20x16" Acylic on Panel

It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted.  It is presented as an unframed work. and is currently available at the Vision Gallery in Atlantic Beach, NC.  www.twogalleries.net 

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Merchants Millpond State Park #3 - 12x16" Acrylic on Canvas

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com


Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Sampson County Cotton Field- 16x12" Acrylic on Canvas

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Sampson County Cotton Field #3 - 20x20" Acrylic on Canvas

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Sampson County Cotton Field #4 - 20x20" Acrylic on Canvas

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com