2023
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.
"Calze"
By Michael Carson
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
“My work is first and foremost figurative studies. It’s what I like to paint, my biggest challenge and my greatest payoff. My nondescript surroundings help me create a mood or a stor...
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
"Tacchi a Spillo"
By Michael Carson
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
“My work is first and foremost figurative studies. It’s what I like to paint, my biggest challenge and my greatest payoff. My nondescript surroundings help me create a mood or a stor...
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
"Gent"
By Michael Carson
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
“My work is first and foremost figurative studies. It’s what I like to paint, my biggest challenge and my greatest payoff. My nondescript surroundings help me create a mood or a stor...
Canvas, Oil
"Smoking Jacket"
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
Uptown Girl - slim figurative female bronze statue
By Sara Ingleby-Mackenzie
Located in London, GB
Sara trained under Ken Hughes, a pupil of Henry Moore, at Bath Academy of Art. There she achieved a first class honours degree in Sculpture and was awarded the Henry Moore Foundation...
Bronze
Summer Coolness (Sommerkälte) life-size contemporary bronze sculpture of female
By Susanne Kraisser
Located in Schierensee, SH
"Summer Coolness" is a large free-standing bronze sculpture, suitable both for the inside and outside. Edition 8, signed, numbered and dated on the bottom. Comes with Certificate and...
Bronze
Milan - contemporary bronze sculpture of life-size Woman holding feather
By Susanne Kraisser
Located in Schierensee, SH
"Milan" is a new, large free-standing bronze sculpture, suitable both for the inside and outside. Edition 8, signed, numbered and dated on the bottom. The sculptress Susanne Kraiss...
Bronze
Italy Cast Lost Wax Woman Figurine Bronze Sculpture by Aron Demetz Guardando
By Aron Demetz
Located in Brescia, IT
This intense bronze sculpture was made by the well known Italian artist, Aron Demetz, in 2004, Italy. This is a lost wax bronze hand painted. The title is "Guardando" translated in ...
Bronze
'Dancer Standing Resting en Barre' Contemporary Figurative Bronze of a ballerina
By Benson Landes
Located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Edition of 25 'Dancer Standing Resting en Barre' by Benson Landes is a stunning 21st Century Solid Bronze Nude Figurative Ballet Dancer. For Benson Landes, sculpture was most definitely a passion. His oeuvre of cast bronzes is populated with ‘off duty’ ballet dancers, rather wistful women, often caught in moments of solitary repose. Such an obvious appreciation of the grace and elegance of the female form was, no doubt, heightened by 25 years spent in the couture business, which Benson entered at the age of 14. The sculptor admitted that his time as an apprentice at his father’s clothing workroom and factory was given rather reluctantly, as he always harbored desires to become an artist. The young boy’s sense of responsibility was clearly equal to his creativity, though, as Benson knuckled down...
Bronze
Daiquiri - slim figurative bronze statue
By Sara Ingleby-Mackenzie
Located in London, GB
Sara trained under Ken Hughes, a pupil of Henry Moore, at Bath Academy of Art. There she achieved a first class honours degree in Sculpture and was awarded the Henry Moore Foundation...
Bronze
