Budden Birds

Michael Budden, born in1957, is an artist living and working in his native New Jersey. From 1980 thru 1995 Mr. Budden, concentrated on painting wildlife winning over 100 awards in shows across the country. His unique use of composition, mood and lighting attracted the attention of major art publishers, art magazines and museums throughout the country. Mr. Budden’s paintings can be found in the collections of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI; Hiram Blauvelt Wildlife Museum, Oradell, NJ; and the Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT. As well as many private collections. His art has been featured in magazines like American Art Review, The Artists Magazine, Wildlife Art News, and Midwest Art. Around 1989 Mike became dissatisfied with just the studio approach to painting and he started painting “en plein air”. “Painting outdoors direct from nature”, the artist states, “my painting on location is based on painting from my heart about what I see and how I respond to what I see. An artist learns more about value, color, and making decisions when painting direct from nature plus there is something freeing out there. When I was younger, I discovered the art of Monet and loved it, so I tried painting outdoors and enjoyed the struggle and progress I made with each new attempt. Although I still do a lot of studio painting, I have returned to this pure reaction approach to the beautiful stimuli I encounter everyday hopefully with a learned eye and honed skills. Some of these plein airs are sold as is and others are translated into larger studio works. Mr. Budden graduated with degrees in art from Mercer County Community College and the College Of New Jersey. He continues to enjoy studying various periods of art history but especially likes Realism and Impressionism. He has been a consistent award winner his entire painting career especially at the Salmagundi Club, NYC. He is a two-time winner of the following 2 top awards given by the Club. The Arthur T. Hill Memorial Award the Best landscape by an Artist 45 years or younger” and the Alden Bryan Memorial Award for Traditional Landscape in Oil”, which is the top prize given at the Members Exhibition. In 2008 the Salmagundi Club reinstated the Vezin Purchase Award with the purchase of Budden’s Faltiron painting. His painting will hang along side some of the most important American painters throughout history that have been members at the Club. In 2006, Mike was invited to design the White House Easter Egg representing New Jersey and met with the First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush during the unveiling of the exhibit. Mr. Budden is a member of the following art organizations, Allied Artists of America, American Artists Professional League, Audubon Artists, American Society of Marine Artists A list of galleries and catalog of work can be found at www.mikebudden.com.