MIKE SEXTON

Junction City, KS

I've been involved in art since I was a child; always drawing and doodling but I found I really enjoys painting digitally which I've been doing since 2004. My digital paintings aren’t your usual “digital art” however. By using a graphic tablet & pen I'm able to paint in a way that makes my work look like they were done with oil, acrylic and water colors. I don’t use a lot of fancy filters to create my work; I just use my tablet as my palette and the pen as my brush. Many people have commented how surprised they were to find out my work is digital at all.

My interests such as being an animal lover as well as a lover of different cultures come into play with my paintings & because of my curiosity and desire to learn, I paint in many different categories from ancient Egypt & other ancient cultures around the world to wildlife, mythological art and Celtic knots.

My series on the Ishtar Gate of ancient Babylon look so real you can envision yourself walking through the gates and seeing people there behind them and my big cat paintings express not only the beauty of the animals themselves but the surroundings make you think you’re hearing the sounds of the savanna and jungles where the cats reside. My pieces on eagles, crows and other birds give you a great sense of freedom and joy. In my paintings of ancient Egypt my love and passion for ancient Egypt shows in every brush stroke by making the settings, the buildings and the deities appear as life-like as possible and using everything I've learned about ancient Egypt from books, exhibits, science articles to bring you to a time that is long past but never forgotten. When I branched out wanting to learn how to create Celtic knots because of their beauty, their intricacy, I vowed to blend the techniques that have been used since Celtic knots were first created but also to add some new variations on old ideas to give each piece a classic yet contemporary feel and look.

As an artist I'd like to reach as many people as possible with my work; to get them thinking about the effect we have on our world as well as to have fun & enjoy the here and now while also looking into the past by using rich vivid colors to display our world and our ancient past. Most of my pieces have come to me from my emotions about nature, the animals we share it with and my love for all ancient cultures because I feel without learning from our species' past, we can't possibly get a proper perspective on the current state of our society.

Nothing pleases me more than when I see someone enjoying my work; getting them to see an idea they might not have thought about before or had put away in the recesses of their experiences; seeing the wonder in their eyes and faces light up as they view, enjoy & think about the piece they're viewing at the time. Also, when they ask me where I've learned my craft I'm always very proud to tell them that I'm self-taught & have learned on my own time, using art books, tips from other artists and good old fashioned trial & error so that they can see that it doesn't take years of learning at any particular school to be an artist, it just takes a willingness to learn, a passion to create & express that passion as well as a lot of practice.

www.mikesextonstudio.com