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The contemporary
landscape paintings of Michael Tienhaara have a unique freshness
that has captivated an international audience. His distinctive
style transcends traditional impressionism, but his works have a
haunting quality of ethereal stillness that transports the viewer
to a different dimension. Michael often states that impressionist
landscape painters fall into one of two categories: experiential
or fantastic. Experiential painters are "gatherers." The source of
their inspiration is the culmination of their visual experiences.
Fantasy painters, however, create imagery from their mind, their
imagination, embellishing the imagery for effect and emotional
impact. Michael uses a blend of each with a greater emphasis on
the fantasy component. The execution of his paintings comes from
the mind in what Michael often refers to as "planned
expressionistic accidents" from stored images of scenes he has
observed in nature and embellished with the use of his own
imagination. Originally from Portland, Oregon and a graduate of
Portland State University, Michael began concentrating on his art
in the late 1980's. Always the experimenter and innovator, he has
worked in a variety of styles ranging from highly abstract
expressionism to "loose impressionism. My style is a moving
target. I paint what I feel, allowing the paint to flow, rather
than working in a particular structured style." |
