The Abstract Art Paintings of Michael Rosenblatt
Michael Rosenblatt's pursuit as an artist - segueing between abstract art paintings and figurative work - is evident when viewing his hundreds of canvasses scattered around his Carlsbad, California studio. Here, expressive paintings in primary and secondary colors often depict whimsical shapes of stars, rainbows, fish and dragons.
Michael paints prolifically day and night, covering his studio walls and floor with oils and acrylics that he splashes freely onto his canvasses. "I work intuitively, developing my own style and system. Creativity flows through me resulting in the shapes and symbols."
Michael often works spontaneously, putting his thoughts and feelings onto paper and canvas quickly, expressing himself in a stream of consciousness manner, particularly in abstract art paintings. He often sketches with pencils first to get his thoughts down, then - with great concentration - uses oils and acrylics to complete the works.
Michael's canvases range from abstract art paintings to landscapes, to still lifes to depictions of animals, to large murals, in pencils, acrylics and oils. He creates 10 to 12 major canvasses and dozens of smaller works each year.
Post-Impressionist Influences
Michael is enamored with post impressionism, with the artists' use of vibrant colors and revolutionary depiction of the world around them. "Through their bold, specific brushstrokes, they expressed the constantly changing environment. They painted the energy, vibrations and movement of the water, of the landscapes and the sun."
Michael is inspired by Vincent van Gogh who painted vivid colors, often working day and night. "I identify with his passion and spirit. Van Gogh transported the viewer to another way of looking at the world, to be able to see the glow of the stars and the energy in the universe." In fact, Michael creates works of color-driven beauty that flow from within him.
Graffiti Art Influences
In Junior High, a friend introduced Michael to graffiti art. "We traveled all over New York, looking at graffiti on trains, subways and buses, in train yards and buildings. I loved the work immediately, the primitive, symbolic nature of the pieces, the colors that jump out at you, the wild styles and self-expression."
As a teenager, Michael moved to San Diego. "Living here made me want to express in paint the many hues of the sky as it looks at sunrise and during the sunset. I loved the ocean waves viewed from the cliffs and at the horizon over the ocean."
Francois Gilot
In high school, Michael worked with Francois Gilot, lover and muse of Pablo Picasso, mother of his children, Claude and Paloma Picasso, and a prolific artist herself. Michael met with Gilot in a San Diego workshop and took classes from her at the Idyllwild School of Music and Art in Idyllwild, California.
Gilot taught Michael the elements of abstract art paintings, the importance of passion in art and the essence of composition and design. She encouraged him to express himself freely and spontaneously, particularly to use his passion for color.
At Idyllwild, Michael also studied with Joe Magniani, creator of illustrations for Ray Bradbury science fiction books. "Joe said that the first brushstrokes are the most important, that every painting is a series of shapes, of abstract shapes, and that the underlying composition determines the success or failure in the finished painting. And he tried to get me to stop overworking my paintings."
Michael studied at the Art Students' League in New York, at the Vermont Studio School and in San Diego area colleges. His teachers included Jim Rosen, Harry Bliss and Harry Sternberg.
Five Murals
By his early twenties, Michael's technical skills earned him commissions for five murals. One depicts the changing of the seasons, moving from a cabin in the snow during a starry night to a scene of melting snow, culminating in a sunrise with spring light, flowing water and foliage at the far right of the work.
Another mural has a landscape of an outer space planet, including mountains, stars and space imagery, in supernatural colors. A third mural depicts a dome-like bubble in the sky with snow-capped mountains within that bubble and water flowing out of the bubble. This early work was inspired in part by Michael's admiration for the surrealistic paintings of Salvador Dali that he saw as a child.
Michael has created several landscapes, some evoking those of 19th century impressionist painters, Pierre August Renoir and Claude Monet. Yet his execution is his own, each piece imbued with elements of surprise and fantasy.
In his early thirties, Michael traveled to Indonesia to produce original artworks. He received this commission based on exquisite figurative landscapes and on jungle animal paintings.
He worked diligently to grasp the intensity of the equatorial Indonesian experience, to capture on canvas the spirit of the life forms there, the tropical sun, the huge contrasts of bright light and darkly colored leaves, the exotic shapes of birds, the people often dressed in colors and shapes that echoed the landscape, and even the energy of the whooping sounds of birds.
Returning home, he approached his abstract art paintings and figurative work with a new sense of freedom of expression in lines, flourishes, coloration and in use of his rich fantasy life.
Michael continues to paint, honing his skills, working in figurative and abstract themes. He revels in the intuitiveness, spirituality and joy of creating works that have his inner world as subject matter.
He often returns to "Space Flowers" that he developed in the 1970's. These abstract art paintings, reflecting his love of nature and outer space, combine shapes and symbols of both worlds, resulting in flowers that could also be shapes from outer space.
Michael says, "Painting for me is a way of exploring new realities. When I work, I feel that I am the architect of new worlds. The adventure of creating and 'living within a painting' gives me great joy. Hopefully others can perceive this joy."
Michael Rosenblatt believes that the artist has the responsibility to communicate joy and beauty to the world, that the process of making art goes beyond an individual act to a universal experience and is one of the greatest actions in which a person can engage.
Inspiration From Within
With all of his formal art training, Michael Rosenblatt is far more than an academically artist.
He understands, admires and draws inspiration from contemporary art trends from the last 60 years - including the bookends of pop and graffiti.
Also motivated by his post impressionist mentors, van Gogh and Seurat, Michael labors for hours each day to manifest their century-old artistic techniques, channeling their spirit, passion and assiduous attention to detail.
Yet once inside his paint-splattered studio, Michael draws inspiration from within himself. He mixes and puts paint on brush or palette knife, then on canvas, board or paper like a sorcerer, often adding layer upon layer of paint until the works glow.
But the real glow in Michaels works comes from his artistic intention, from his decades long desire and practice to manifest his deepest creative nature on canvas.
While he understands that each one of us possesses this profound artistic nature, he realizes that few people bring to the surface. He is fortunate to have the time and understanding of those around him to pursue his art, as well as the desire to do so.
His works such Indonesian Dreams and On the Bayou have familiarity of locale and technique, inspired in part by the post impressionists and expressionists. Yet the beauty and core of these artworks come from within him.
Michael Rosenblatt reveals the truth about himself in his artworks. In doing so, he tells truths about the universe. Those of us fortunate to be in the presence of his works derive deeper understanding of our own selves, while looking at his paintings.
Related Pages:
- Contemporary Art Trends - Contemporary art trends is an ever-evolving topic about art of the late 20th century and early 21st century. Artists’ works today are often hybrids of several styles including abstraction with figurative work; obscure references with blatant writings; symbolic narrative with bold splashes of color.
- Barbara White - Barbara White travels the world, creating pictures that express the beauty and diversity of our planet's cultures. Her tools are the camera, the magnificent worldwide scenes of people practicing their religions, the natural world and the multitude of plant species.
- Claudia Meyer - Claudia Meyer Monographie is a series of elegant, mostly abstract works, made from wood, Plexiglas, stainless steel, acrylic paint, precious stones and sand.
- Dennis McGonagle - Dennis McGonagle creates art murals inspired by a variety of 20th century art movements and artists, including George Bellows, John Sloan, the Ashcan School and American Scene paintings of Edward Hopper.
- Eadweard York - Eadweard York is a graffiti artist with deep roots. He has worked in the graffiti style nearly all of his life and professionally for more than 20 years. The formerly disenfranchised youth is creating significant art while transcending his personal demons.
- Ernie Gerzabek - Ernie Gerzabek's Abstract Landscape Paintings are inspired by the Australian topography, its wilderness regions, wetlands, virgin countryside, deserts and seashores.
- Jerry Burchfield - After Jerry Burchfield was diagnosed with colon cancer in late 2007, I requested an interview to discuss his love for photography and involvement with...
- Leslie Davis - Worlds in Collision, an art exhibition, was created to draw attention to four illnesses. Through construction of dynamic metal and glass sculpture, glass artist Leslie Davis informs viewers about the gravity of four illnesses and about the pioneering scientists working on alternative cures.
- Mark Chamberlain - Mark Chamberlain is a fine art photographer, as well as an environmental, assemblage and performance artist. He owns BC Space Gallery, Laguna Beach, California
- Mary Aslin - Working in a centuries old classical style producing pastel art, Mary Aslin creates still life, figurative, and landscape paintings - artwork so luminous and lifelike, the viewer is treated to a rich visual experience where the play of light on the subject engages all of the senses.
- Michael Rosenblatt - Michael Rosenblatt’s pursuit as an artist - segueing between abstract art paintings and figurative work - is evident when viewing his hundreds of canvasses scattered around his Carlsbad, California studio. Here, expressive paintings in primary and secondary colors often depict whimsical shapes of stars, rainbows, fish and dragons.
- Pat Sparkuhl - Pat Sparkuhl creates artworks that focus on personal concerns and relationships to social issues. Recurring themes in his works are sex, war, health, politics, religion and money. His themes encompass the broad range of human behavior and other...
- Scott Moore - Scott Moore creates artworks that touch viewers' psyches, resonate with memories of a long lost America, conjure up images by Norman Rockwell with hints.
- Snezana Petrovic - For Snezana Petrovic, winning the Ovation Awards prize for costume design was the most recent accolade of a long, illustrious career that began with studio.
- Tom Swimm - The paintings of Tom Swimm are exquisite renditions of water and light, of boats and fishing villages, inspired by his travels to picturesque spots in places like Italy, Greece and the Caribbean.
