Cotton Field Off Highway 64 #3 - 20x20" Acrylic on Canvas

The fourth in a continuing series of cotton field paintings.  This theme has been very well received.  Some comments on earlier pieces include:
 
I  love the construction of this piece. I keep wanting to look at every detail!  Elizabeth, PA
 
I love the way you handled this very difficult subject. You truly captured a feeling of depth. Viewed from a distance, I can see thousands and thousands of cotton plants in this field!  Don, MD

 

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Cotton Field Off Highway 64 #4 - 12x16" Acrylic on Canvas

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Pocosin Lakes - 40x30" Acrylic on Canvas

Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Refuge is located in Columbia, North Carolina. I visited the area in early October, so there are some interesting reds and autumn colors reflected in the painting. I like this picture because it includes sky, land and water. Each of these areas reflects a different painting style.
 
This work was juried into SCOPE: The North Carolina Landscape Show - and was awarded First Prize in that show.  

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Atlantic Beach in July - 40x30" Acrylic on Canvas

For years I have struggled with how to paint a view from the beach. On a lazy day in early July it hit my while idling the day away at Atlantic Beach. Looking out on the horizon I saw very definitive shapes and lines. Unlike other paintings I have done that usually involve tress and other complicated shapes, this setting was beautiful in its simplicity. I love the contrasts that this scene allowed fo: the dark blues of the water vs. the light blues of the sky and the tans and umbers of the beach vs. the water made the different segments of this work pop off the canvas.

Despite the apparent simplicity, this painting took an incredibly long time to complete. The water and the sand each were painted in small grids and then later refined. The beach actually has sand particles in it to make it a bit more authentic. 

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Sweetwater Creek - 20x20" Acrylic on Canvas

Sweetwater Creek is located in Eastern North Carolina near Williamston.  During a recent trip to the region I took some pictures from the highway overpass.  Things like sunken trees and dark muddy water with brilliant defined reflections make this a very interesting landscape.

There are several different acrylic painting techniques I used to create this picture.  The water was painted in different grays, greens and purples – when complete I applied a thick sap green glaze over the water this allowed for a sharp contrast with the foreground.  The grassy area in the foreground is different bands of greens and yellows accented by speckles of contrasting greens and yellows to represent the wet grass.  The further background in the top 1/3 of the painting represents the dense forestry I saw in that area.

Certainly the most involved and eye catching elements of this work are the trees.  The detail work and heavy impasto allow these trees to jump off the canvas.  In some cases (like the red in the upper left) dried paint/glaze is adhered to the canvas using gel medium.

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Sweetwater Cereek #2 - 20x20" Acrylic on Canvas

Micah: This piece has a surrealistic quality to it. I feel like I'm in the middle of an interesting dream!Atul P., NC

Micah,your work is so unique and inspiring.I love your use of pattern.Patricia P., CA
 
In the second painting of my Sweetwater Creek series I decided to hold off on the impasto work. I like the water in this piece and the reflections of the trees seem more pronounced. The depth provided by the blacks, grays and blues in the top center make a bit of intrigue as to where the water ends and land and trees begin.
 
In October 2010 this painting was awarded first place in the Carolina Color Gallery's "Down Home: Portraits of the Old North State" as part of the Junior League's Shopping Spree event.
 
This work is presented as an unframed work.

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Croatan Forest #1 - 36x24" Acrylic on Canvas

In creating a typical landscape, I find the sky to be one of the most important elements to the painting.  The viewer’s eye is directed to the vanishing point where horizon line disappears and eventually dissolves into the sky.  Challenging the viewer with a “non-traditional” sky I find accents other parts of the painting.
 
In 2009 this piece was accepted into The FIne Art League of Cary's Annual Juried Show. It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted.


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Croatan Forest #2 - 24x36" Acrylic on Canvas

In Croatan Forest 2, I used varying square and rectangular shapes of blues, whites and grays to achieve this “geometric sky”.  Just by cutting shapes in masking tape and applying different color glazes in layer over layer allowed me to achieve this effect.
 
In 2009 this piece was accepted into The Wayne County Arts Council Annual Juried Show. It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted.  It is presented as an unframed work and will be shipped free to anywhere in the continental United States.

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Lake Waccamaw - 16x20" Acrylic on Canvas

Awesome, Dan S., MN
 
Over Memorial Day Weekend we visited Lake Waccamaw near Wilmington, NC. It was an overcast day so the sky offered some interesting colors. This is a very shallow lake - the kids and I walked nearly 100 yards into the lake before the water got too deep. This allowed the bottom of the lake to be faintly seen in the picture from which this painting is depicted.
 
In October 2010 this painting was juried into Carolina Color Gallery's "Down Home: Portraits of the Old North State" as part of the Junior League's Shopping Spree event.
 

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Cotton Field Off Highway 64 #1 - 20x20" Acrylic on Paper

Growing up in the North, I always tended to see cotton as a synthetic/artificial material. Seeing it grow out of the ground in full bloom is quite interesting. The pure white of the cotton offset against the greens of the field and the trees in the background create some interesting color contrasts.

The cotton is this painting is composed of fluid acrylics (Pearl White and Van Dyke Brown) mixed with glazing medium. I am anxious to try a similar composition on a larger canvas.

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Cotton Field Off Highway 64 #2 - 16x20" Acrylic on Canvas

The Second in a series of cotton field paintings.  The purple and blue sky in this came out magnificent.  The cotton is this painting is again composed of fluid acrylics (Pearl White and Van Dyke Brown) mixed with glazing medium.

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Cliffs of the Neuse State Park - 24x18" Acrylic on Paper

Great Work... the detail all of it!! I am adding to my favorites.  Jon B., IA

Located just south of Goldsboro, NC is Cliffs of the Neuse State Park.  We visited the park in late Spring, this visit was preceded by about seven straight days of rain.  Alot of the hiking trails were flooded, but it created some cool pictures that would not exist under normal conditions.

 When I began painting these pictures this was my first go around with acryl gouache on watercolor paper.  I use acryl gouache in nearly all of my paintings, but usually as more of an accent layer over traditional heavy body acrylics.  Previous paintings have always been done on canvas or boards, cold press watercolor paper provided me an interesting new dynamic.   Unlike canvas, the paper allows for softer strokes and better detail. Of course some of the impasto and sgrafiito techniques that I like to use are not possible on this surface, but overall I like this surface as I can do paintings a bit quicker.  They also look nice under glass in a metal silver frame.

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Cliffs of the Neuse State Park #2 - 18x24" Acrylic on Paper

Located just south of Goldsboro, NC is Cliffs of the Neuse State Park.  We visited the park in late Spring, this visit was preceded by about seven straight days of rain.  Alot of the hiking trails were flooded, but it created some cool pictures that would not exist under normal conditions.

 When I began painting these pictures this was my first go around with acryl gouache on watercolor paper.  I use acryl gouache in nearly all of my paintings, but usually as more of an accent layer over traditional heavy body acrylics.  Previous paintings have always been done on canvas or boards, cold press watercolor paper provided me an interesting new dynamic.   Unlike canvas, the paper allows for softer strokes and better detail. Of course some of the impasto and sgrafiito techniques that I like to use are not possible on this surface, but overall I like this surface as I can do paintings a bit quicker.  They also look nice under glass in a metal silver frame.

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Cliffs of the Neuse State Park #3 - 20x20" Acrylic on Panel

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Pocosin Lakes #2 - 10x8" Acrylic on Canvas

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