Steven D. Mikel

Mikel - pronounced ( Mike-el ), ( Michael )
or as Steve says.. 'Mike with an "L"'

Born: 08/16/59 - South Bend, Indiana
Parents: Dennis and Mary Mikel

I was very young when I started painting (age 6). In fact, one of my earliest memories is that of watching my Grandma Mangus paint Christmas cards in her living room. I would stand and watch her hand paint each card, most of which were done in watercolor.

Throughout elementary and high school I spent most of my time in the art rooms drawing, painting or developing photographs that I had taken, as well as, trying to explain much of my subject matter. I had developed a quirk of looking for unique "art" in trash along the side of the road, broken down bits of things, or the inter-tangle of branches and leaves, etc. I was not concerned so much in the object itself but how it related to the space and form around it. Did it have motion, did it move me to question, did it stir mystery or emotion within me, could I somehow capture that on film or in paper and paint. That was my personal challenge. 

To be honest, I was mostly frustrated. I would study the paintings of Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer and the photographs of Ansel Adams and be inspired, yet at the same time become disheartened with my own progress. Thankfully, as I got older, I discovered that at least for me, being an artist is not an "accomplished state", but more specifically a “state of mind”. As one practices medicine, I have learned to enjoy practicing art.

Another facet of my particular approach to artist style and graphic communication is my relationship to analytical processes. Growing up the son of a Purdue trained Mechanical Engineer turned Systems Analyst, exposed me to computers and programming from the days of CPM and DOS. Hearing my father share his day at work often led to engineering discussions on “best case scenarios” and efficient ways of handling the relative problem.  I grew to enjoy analyzing and identifying business issues, as well as, how to link my artistic talent to the process in trying to efficiently communicate those thoughts or developed solutions.

This blend of analytical and emotional gives me an uncommon perspective; “I see each graphic design, painting, photograph or video as an opportunity to creatively research, study and analyze the specific message and then challenge myself to develop a visual artistic solution that effectively and efficiently communicates that message.”

What I enjoy most about painting is the freedom to break the physical and visual rules.  Although my formal training was in photography, basic visual perspective and physics always remain.  However, as an artist, we have the freedom to express what we "see" within the "physics”  of the world around us.  We can bend or even break the physical rules to expose the inner motion and poetic aspect of the visual scene. Therefore...