Featured Artist - "Michael Longo"

Arizona painter , Mike Longo was born in Denver, Colorado , but his family traveled extensively during the artist's formative years, living in Europe and Japan as well as in many states in the US. This exposure to a variety of cultures and environments provided the artist with a deep appreciation for the beauty and variety that life offers..

Longo, who paints in the tradition of Claude Monet, notes that what he strives for in his work above all else is the timeless quality found in the works of the French Impressionists. "I try to render atmosphere and volume keeping technique subordinate to the whole. The "envelope" as referred to by the impressionist painters of the late 1800's, is what I attempt to capture and keep at the center of my work. Light, form, color and texture are elements that help me paint a landscape as a composition of visual harmony - a whole and not just an array of single elements.

In addition to art, Longo also apprenticed with Belgian born wood carver and furniture maker, Antoine Caspar. "While working in his shop, I learned to make furniture like they did 300 years ago - no nails or screws, all the joinery was either doweled or mortise and tenon", he explains. Elements of this experience are revealed in my art giving it an almost sculptural quality. Certain pieces may resemble a bas-relief carving. The foreground advances and the background recedes to impart a senses of space, depth and atmosphere.

Longo has a love for sailing and has spent a great deal of time in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. Misty harbor scenes and rushing rivers often find their way onto Longo's canvases serving as an intriguing contrast to the lush water gardens for which he is best known.

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