Mike Hill

I began painting as a child. My mother would giive me pictures to copy,not trace. She would draw wedding cakes, high heel shoes, couples dancing and never a car or truck. She had been a commercial artist during the nineteen thirties and never stopped encouraging me in the arts. After high school I went to California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco . After art college I returned to Portland, Oregon to pursue the art of dentistry. I retired from dentistry last year, but I hope to keep painting until I can no longer hold a brush. I paint realism, but mostly I paint 'realism with an attitude.' I love the ability to enhance what I see with an emphasis on color and light. You'll see colors that might not be so vivid in real life, contrasts may be more pronounced, and people or things may be added that will tell a better story. I do appear in some of my paintings, not as a gimmick, but because many times I fell like part of the scene. Some of my favorite subjects are cars, buildings, special florals and special people. As an artist you can see the nuances and the nostalgia that a scene might bring, and I work hard to bring out these special feelings. You see under, around and through the subjects, and you love the absence and presence of objects. Life is precious and even more so when you can recreate it on paper. Every year brings new surprises and these last years have been no exception. Four of my paintings were in 'SPLASH 9, THE BEST OF WATERCOLOR' and in 2008 another will be in SPLASH 10. I became a signature member of the NWWS and in 2005 I became a grandfather. I must say that life doesn't get any better than that.

Artwork Feed

Events Feed

Blog Feed