So, I originally tried writing a "traditional" artist's bio, however, it struck me as profoundly impersonal and boring. So I hope you don't mind if I take a different approach to tell you a little ......
ABOUT ME
As you have probably guessed by now, my name is Mike Conklin and I am an artist. Ok, so in fairness, the cat is my son's and the bearded dragon is my daughter's and of course we are the
dog's humans. I live and paint in Fountain Inn, a small town in South Carolina. Of course that does not tell you much .....
ABOUT MY ART
I studied Art in High School, and somewhat in college during the late 80's and early 90's (so now you have an idea of my age if you didn't get that from the grand kids statement), but stepped away from art for the largest part of my adult life to pursue a career in IT. I took art back up primarily as a stress relief, and now enjoy creating as often and as much as possible. I draw inspiration from oceans and sea-life, nature and wildlife and the architecture of various cities. I work in impressionistic and surrealistic styles, however, my favorite style is abstract. I feel like abstract painting gives me the greatest measure of freedom to play with color and form, and I really just enjoy not being restrained in my work. WHAT ABOUT MEDIUMS? When I first started painting I worked primarily in oils, but in my old age have determined that I just don't have the patience of oils anymore. Now, I primarily work in acrylics and acrylic inks, and have recently found alcohol inks (thanks mom) which have opened whole new realms of creativity. I also work in water colors, pen and ink and colored pencil or any combination of those mediums that strikes me at the time. I will occasionally even dabble in digital media. WAIT, ISN'T ALCOHOL INK JUST FOR CRAFTERS? While it's true that alcohol ink started as a crafting medium, it has recently begun to take hold as an artists medium. I really enjoy how random and fluid the inks can be and the truly unique effects that alcohol inks provide. The biggest challenge with this medium is because it is dye based and not pigment based it is very sensitive to light, which requires some additional steps in the sealing process. SO WHERE CAN I GET SOME OF YOUR SUPER-COOL WORK? Well, I'm glad you asked -
Original artwork, open edition and limited edition archival quality prints can be purchased on the mikeconklinartist.com website
Posters and larger format prints can be purchased on my etsy site. I also do commissioned artwork, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] for information. Mike lives and paints in Fountain Inn, a small town in South Carolina.
