Confederate Cemetery at Oakwood - 48x36" Acrylic on Panel

Oakwood cemetery is located in downtown Raleigh, NC.  The cemetery is hundreds of years old with a portion of it devoted to the Confederate Soldiers who served in the American Civil War.  Like many military cemeteries the markers are all consistent in size and shape and geometrically uniform in how they are positioned on the ground.  This aspect of the composition immediately attracted me.  I have visited this cemetery several times, but this is the first I visited the area during the winter months.  The lack of leaves on many of the towering trees created a beautiful background to an already interesting composition.  This probably prompted me to try to paint this challenging work.  

Presented on a panel mounted to 3" natural wood cradle
 
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I could look at this for hours...actually, I almost did! Amazing, Micah! Anne D., CA

wow! I applaud you vision! Carolyn C., NY

One of my favorite parks in Raleigh is Durant Park.  A few weeks ago my kids had their wrestling picnic in one of the shelters.  I was able to sneak away and get some pictures of the creek.  It seems the water in the creek is always pretty low so this results in alot of tree roots hanging over the creek.  Definitely makes for some interesting pictures and of course later on interesting paintings.

For this painting I painted one layer on a 24x36” Gessobord.  I deliberately omitted painting a lot of detail on the big tree and the rock system in the lower right corner.  When I finished painting the panel, I primed certain areas of a glass pane, and painted those.  When finished I placed the glass on top of the panel.  I started exploring this method of glass painting when I did my second DVD Abstracting the Outdoors: Unlikely Surfaces, it really allows for a different and interesting depth perception that I have yet to achieve from a one layered two dimensional work.  This piece was accepted into the 2009 NEW Show at the Visual Art Exchange of Raleigh.

This work is presented in a silver metal frame.

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

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A painting depicted from a scene in late November of 2009. I took several pictures from the bike path overlooking Crabtree creek. It was a cold miserable sky, the grey sky is somewhat reflective of the atmospheric conditions in contrast to the blue water which if looked on alone might depict a sunnier day. Most of the leaves had since fallen leaving a lot of interesting earth tones to work with. The big trees really allowed for some interesting details and they have a lovely contrast with the sky and the water.

For purchasing information please contact me at micah@micahmullen.com

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Over the last few years most of my paintings have been inspired by pictures taken in various spots in the Carolinas and elsewhere on the east coast. I always put alot of thought into where I might find my next painting. Will it be a lake, a river, a waterfall or field? Usually my family comes with me on these trips so we generally find that "perfect" location between 10 am and 4 Pm. Of the hundreds of pictures taken and all the sites we have seen, I now realize I am neglecting the time of day in finding an ideal subject. I am certainly aware of the different colors and tones involved with atmosphere and time, but I have never made the effort to go out and seek them. Even in this most recent painting of Fall Lake which is only a few miles from my house, it was just by coincidence that I was able to take the picture at sundown. Sometimes the perfect subject might not involve driving 5 hours to the western part of the state, but rather just a matter of waiting a few hours for sundown or getting up early for sunrise.

This painting was inspired by a view from Blue Jay Point Park at Falls Lake. The sundown setting allowed me to dust off some of my red and yellow paint tubes and create a neat sunset.

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It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted. 

It is presented as an unframed work with all sides painted.  It is currently on display in Nature Art Gallery at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.  For purchasing information please contact the gallery at (919) 733-7450 x. 360  www.naturalsciences.org

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

Painted entirely in thin fluid acrylics, this work reflects the quarry at the Eno River. The picture was taken on a beautiful, crisp day in early March. Although there was not a cloud in the sky I chose to alternate colors in the sky in a combination of cobalt and cerulean. Both the sky and the water were created by first outlining a grid of a squares (each about 1/2" x 1/2") The squares were all individually painted to reflect a distinct color or pattern. The land mass of trees uses a series of greens and earthtones, I needed to use two different glazes of Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna to provide some contrast with the land and water.

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



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You have a style all your own. I love the mangroves. Great job.Carol A., FL

This is one of several paintings I have done of Falls Lake.  Being the picture was taken on sunny day in the summer there are obviously some dominant greens.  Chromium Oxide Green is one of my favorite greens.  This is a very opaque green, I can use this straight out of the tube to achieve full coverage.  This is very different from another of my favorite greens – Permanent Green Light.  Here I try to mix about 10% white to achieve a good opacity.  This does not weaken the color at all, in those instances where I want use this color for its transparent qualities it actually provides a subtle contrast.

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

 It is a 3/4" canvas with all four sides painted.  It is presented in a black Floater Frame.

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

This work is presented in a silver metal frame.

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

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

Swamp at Old Crews Road - 24x12" Acrylic on Canvas

I finished this painting depicting a swampy area on Old Crews Road not too far from my house. The paints used for his work are a bit of a diversion from how I normally paint. I normally work on a painting by first creating a layer using Matisse Structure heavy Bodied Acrylics. After this layer is made I will use a combination of Matisse Flow Fluid acrylics and Turner Acryl Gouache to add the details over this layer. For this painting I did not use the heavy bodied acrylic and worked exclusively with Turner Acryl Gouache and Matisse Flow Acrylics. In a way these types of paints are opposites in that the Acryl Gouache is opaque and most of the Flow acrylics are thin and transparent. Using these in conjunction with one another provides for some interesting effects. Certain colors work better with other, so of course a lot of trial and error is involved.
 
It is presented as an unframed work with all sides painted to match composition.
 

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


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A second View from my Back Porch - 12x16" Acrylic on Panel and Glass

My favorite part of the week is usually Saturday night around 6:00 or so.  After a day of painting or running errands I love to sit out on my deck and enjoy a cigar and a cold beverage.  My deck is elevated about 12’ from the ground so it overlooks my lawn that extends into a wooded area.

The painting shown is a view from my deck.  The lawn and forest area are painted on a 12x16” Gessobord panel.  The planks and beams of the deck are painted on a piece of glass.  Before I framed the piece I separated the glass and the panel with four balsa wood strips that are concealed by the lip of the frame.  The picture shown does not really give the right perception, but if you were to look at the painting from any angle you can really see how the glass is offset from the panel.

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

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Field at Watkins Road - 16x20 Acrylic on Canvas

Many of the farmers around my neighborhood have been busy plowing the fields getting ready for the next planting. This plowing makes for some interesting patterns in the rows. When the earth is disturbed it frees up many great earth tone colors not normally seen. I took a picture of this setting around 7:45 PM. The sun was just setting on a slightly overcast day. Many blues and purples filled the sky , but there was still enough light to allow for some brilliant siennas in the recently plowed field. The field was painted in a series of grids - I have used this method for sky and water however this was my first try at land mass using this method.

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Tobacco Field at Old Milburnie Road - 20x20" Acrylic on Canvas

Recently I was invited by the folks at Savoir Faire to try the new Sennelier Acrylique.  Being such a creature of habit I am always skeptical about trying different paints, especially when I like the brand I currently use.  The scene painted is a tobacco field off Old Milburnie Road in Raleigh, NC.  The autumn colors were starting to really appear, and being the tobacco crop was not in season, the colors of the field offered some interesting reds and earth tone colors.

I began this painting with the sky mixing some Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White.  I immediately noticed the difference in the Sennelier paint versus other paints I have used.  My initial reaction was that it felt like more of an oil color than an acrylic.  Right out of the tube the paint was very thick.   For the sky I needed I thinner mixture that I could easily glaze over – the thickness of the paint prohibited me a bit in this process, but in the end it worked ok.  The remarkable thing is even after I thinned these colors down with a decent amount of water, the vibrancy of the color remained as if it were right out of the tube. 

When I started to paint the trees I really was impressed with the colors.  Even after I stopped painting for the day and came back 20 hours later, there was very little color shift from wet to dry. 

I like using Permanent Green Light in many of my paintings.  This tends to be a very transparent color and if I want to use it straight out of the tube and right on the canvas I generally need to mix a little white to make it an opaque color.  With the Sennelier paint I did not need to do this.  Much of the color seen is right out of the tube – no streaking or dulling of the color – Pure color in its pure state . . . really good stuff.
 
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

Pope Strawberry Fields - 12x9"  Acrylic on Canvas

My friend Bryan’s family owns a big farm in Knightdale, NC.  Every spring the open up the farm and let public come by to pick strawberries.  The kids enjoy picking the berries and we all enjoy eating them.  The patterns of the rows are very interesting as they create very defined lines in a natural setting.  It be nice if more of the reds of the berries came through on this paintings, but the small accents of red dots due give it some zest.

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

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Neuse RIver at Buffaloe Road - 40x30" Acrylic on Canvas

I used alot of glazing techniques to capture the water surface.  I painted this picture in February of 2008.  I think the color palette of browns and grays really reflects the seasonality of the location.  The piece was accepted into the 2008 Fine Art League of Cary Annual Juried Show
 
It is presented as an unframed work with all sides painted.  It is currently on display in Nature Art Gallery at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.  For purchasing information please contact the gallery at (919) 733-7450 x. 360  www.naturalsciences.org

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

Pleian AIre - View from my Deck - 6x6" Oil on Canvas

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Rolesville and Puryear Road - 12x12"" Acrylic on Canvas

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



Downtown Raleigh #1 - 11x14" Acrylic on Panel

THIS WORK HAS BEEN SOLD

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