We were lucky to catch up with Michael Rosenfeld recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Being an artist means approaching a blank canvas, and creating something out of nothing. It also means communicating one’s ideas and visions with imagery as opposed to words.The most important things in one’s life and mind are likely to be the basis of the strongest work.While an artist should approach the subject matter with all of the hard work and ability one has to communicate their desired vision or message,the most poignant work will also invariably be that which is close to the artists own heart and soul. It is therefore imperative that the artist never edit or dilute their own vision to fit the mores of societal acceptance.

Michael, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As a child I was constantly making drawings. I would steal the cardboard from my father’s laundered shirts and make art with them . By high school I decided that I wanted to be an artist. At that time in the 70’s album cover art was very strong and I was heavily influenced by artists like Neon Park (Frank Zappa, Little Feat) and Rick Griffen(Grateful Dead). I pursued formal art training at Wesleyan University and in Graduate school at Washington University in St.Louis. The early love I had for surrealism gave way to studying realism which I have used to give my present work an authority which I believe makes sometimes fantastic visions believable. I make oil paintings which veer from realism to surrealism, depending on the subject which consumes me. Recently I have done a series of paintings of deciduous trees, taking the point of view from the ground looking up. Presently I am working on a painting which juxtaposes a giant Galapagos turtle with an oil truck on a highway. In these and other works , the overall image is bolstered by a painstaking attention to the smallest details.
I see beauty in the things around us , be they artificial or natural, and I endeavor to draw the viewers attention to these things in ways they may not have done before.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is going into the studio and creating work. No one is telling what or how to create that work An artist is creating their product, they are engaged in its’ marketing, whether through galleries, agents or directly, and in doing so is working on levels not found in any other business. Of course this is very difficult ,but if one is very persistent and unafraid to take things to the next level, it is well worth that difficulty.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal of my creative journey is for my technical abilities to match my imagination. This is something I have been working on my whole life, and I admit that I will probably never be finished. For myself as I suspect it is for many others my field,it will always be the work I am doing presently which drives me, though of course I stand by all the work I have done in the past.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dirigibleturtle.com
• Instagram: @michaelandrewrosenfeld
• Facebook: Michael Andrew Rosenfeld
• Linkedin: Michael Rosenfeld

Image Credits
images courtesy of Michael Andrew Rosenfeld