2018
American painter Michael Carson studied design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design before becoming a fine artist. He didn’t start painting until several years after graduating in 1996, now creating paintings with an atmospheric realism inspired by Norman Rockwell, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and John Singer Sargent.
For Carson, who was born and raised in Minneapolis and is now based in Arizona, every work is a chance to explore the interplay of color and light. Carson is also fascinated by texture, with how the movement of the brush guides the eye and can drastically alter the mood of a painting. “I like the fact that the face can be such a subtle subject, and one brushstroke can be the difference in the feel of the entire piece,” he has stated.
As a figurative painter and visual storyteller in the mold of Joseph Lorusso, Carson often focuses on solitary women, particularly concentrating on fashion and settings like nightclubs and cafés, embodying the mood of a moment. Never objectified, his subjects and especially the depth of their facial expressions reflect Carson’s desire to follow in French painter Toulouse-Lautrec’s footsteps and “just exist and observe and create,” as he told Resident magazine. Music is a major influence, with Carson borrowing song lyrics for titles and painting the cover of American singer-songwriter Matt Berninger’s 2020 album Serpentine Prison.
Allowing globs of paint to trail down the canvas, Carson wipes away colors to create a translucent glaze, layering patterns and figures to ghostly effect. These techniques are aimed at shifting viewer perspective and encouraging a closer look at the detailed brushwork and what’s happening just under the surface of his muted palettes.
Find Michael Carson’s art on 1stDibs.
$2,250Sale Price|25% Off
H 16.25 in W 12.5 in D 1 in
Contemporary Oil Painting on Canvas: Jai Lai, 2000s, Unframed
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Provenance: Ibid Projects Private collection, Los Angeles
Canvas, Oil
$14,400Sale Price|20% Off
H 42.9 in W 42.9 in D 3 in
Raum Stuhl Contemporary Oil Painting on Canvas, Circa 2000-2009
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Provenance: Vera Munro Gallery, Hamburg
Oil, Canvas
$3,000
H 46 in W 52 in D 1.5 in
«It’s Okay, Little Crab (Sensory Overload)» Oil on Canvas by Samantha Van Heest
By Samantha Van Heest
Located in Oslo, NO
It’s Okay, Little Crab (Sensory Overload) in a way feels like a self portrait, with the vacuum acting as a personified vision of time and societal expectation. The vacuum may never reach the crab, but its loud and disturbing presence will. Samantha Van Heest...
Canvas, Oil
$8,000
H 70.87 in W 74.81 in
«Ave Maria» Large Figurative Oil Painting on Canvas by Giorgi Qochiashvili
By Giorgi Qochiashvili
Located in Oslo, NO
Giorgi Qochiashvili's colourful world is impressive to say the least. Inspired by poetry, Japanese culture and films of Jim Jarmush, he creates massive paintings...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500
H 38 in W 48 in D 1.5 in
«Sh*t Happens» Figurative Oil Painting by Samantha Van Heest
By Samantha Van Heest
Located in Oslo, NO
Shit happens sometimes. In this piece, the artist wanted to create an unsettling and claustrophobic space where people feel most private and vulnerable. Inspired by artist Tala Madani, she created a cartoon figure to act as the voyeur, a bright and unwelcome disturbance that cannot be ignored. Samantha Van Heest...
Canvas, Oil
$2,200Sale Price|37% Off
H 42 in W 36 in D 1.5 in
«Imported Goods» Still Life Oil Painting by Samantha Van Heest
By Samantha Van Heest
Located in Oslo, NO
Imported Goods is an exploration of environment, especially focusing on the wellness of the ocean and the consequences of human plastic consumption. There is beauty in appreciation and replication, but it becomes a tragedy when it fully devours natural creation. Samantha Van Heest...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500
H 12 in W 16 in D 1.5 in
«Pull Shapes (Duet)» Oil on Canvas, Diptych by Samantha Van Heest
By Samantha Van Heest
Located in Oslo, NO
Pull Shapes (Duet) is a diptych that subtly explores surrealism, focusing in on the intimacy of the bedroom space. Pillows are this central point of comfort in our day to day, and the artist wanted to play with scale, mystery, and the night table drawer. Samantha Van Heest...
Canvas, Oil
$2,500
H 40.16 in W 40.16 in D 1.78 in
«Young Peer» Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting on Canvas by Matteo Merla 2010
By Matteo Merla
Located in Oslo, NO
In our society where everything runs so fast, stopping to consume a painting forces us to stop and reflect on an idea or a problem and consequently helps us develop a capacity for se...
Canvas, Oil
$6,000
H 47.25 in W 59.06 in
«Ta meg i mot» Figurative Oil Painting, toppless woman with blue boxing gloves
Located in Oslo, NO
«Ta meg i mot» oil on canvas by Anastína Eyjólfsdóttir. A toppless woman equipped with blue boxing gloves poses by the shore. Behind her, the sky and small strip of sea create a bl...
Canvas, Oil
$3,500
H 48 in W 36 in D 1.5 in
«Ellipses» Figurative Oil Painting by Samantha Van Heest
By Samantha Van Heest
Located in Oslo, NO
Ellipses plays with the nature of awkward interaction and subtle facial expressions. Is it all internal, or can awkwardness feel like a palpable and personified presence? Samantha Van Heest...
Canvas, Oil
"Curtain of Trees"
By Melissa Peck
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
It was when she was nine years old when that Melissa Peck knew for sure she was an artist. She was sitting at the kitchen table drawing a picture of a little girl. At the time she wa...
Oil, Wood Panel
"Rhapsody"
By Ron Hicks
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1965, Ron Hicks was an avid artist from an early age. Hicks began his formal studies in art at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio. Hicks contin...
Oil, Wood Panel
"Dawn Answers"
By Ron Hicks
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1965, Ron Hicks was an avid artist from an early age. Hicks began his formal studies in art at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio. Hicks contin...
Oil, Wood Panel
"Charades"
By Michael Carson
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Mike Carson is a Minneapolis painter, and graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, whose artwork can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the Unite...
Oil, Wood Panel
"Something on My Mind"
By Ron Hicks
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1965, Ron Hicks was an avid artist from an early age. Hicks began his formal studies in art at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio. Hicks contin...
Oil, Wood Panel
"Full Circle"
By Michael Carson
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Mike Carson is a Minneapolis painter, and graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, whose artwork can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the Unite...
Oil, Wood Panel
