One day, quite a while back, Michael was at the dump and spotted a tattered edition of the encyclopedia of jazz. He took the book back to his studio and swirled out a portrait of Louis Armstrong. Many of the faces and instruments in the book excited and inspired him and he began to paint more from these photos, though what emerged was wildly stylized, like the music itself.

Michael says he has now painted hundreds of these portraits and says, "A lot of these guys are so obscure people have forgotten about them and I want to bring them back alive."

A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Michael studied art under Robert Newman at Keene State College. He now lives in Chesham, New Hampshire with his wife Lucy and son Nolan. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in Europe and the United States. For a list of awards and exhibits, please click here.

450 Chesham Road, Harrisville, NH 03450

603-827-4176 • portraitofjazz@gmail.com