Meet the Artist
Steven Michael
Steven Michael is a painter working in oil, known for his distinctive layered and textural style. His work can be understood in terms of three guiding ideas. First, to evoke a mood or emotion through the careful selection of color and shape. Second, to find a balance between the rhythms of expressive brushwork and the structure of intentional composition. And third, in certain pieces, to explore the connection between painting and music—to invite you into a deeper world where you feel, imagine, and move beyond the literal.
Steven draws inspiration from artists across movements and centuries. His influences include Rembrandt’s depth and shadow, the gestural energy of Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline, the introspective abstraction of Robert Motherwell, Theodoros Stamos, and Richard Diebenkorn—and the improvisational genius of Miles Davis.
Artist Statement
I am fascinated by abstract art because it is a form of purely non-verbal communication. It doesn’t hand you a narrative or present familiar shapes. Instead, it asks you to set aside pre-conceived ideas and let the image speak to you on an emotional level.
When you look at a landscape, you think, “There’s a tree.” But an abstract painting invites you to think beyond that moment. It tempts you to stop thinking logically and focus on how you feel. I believe this is what makes abstract art so energizing.
Sometimes, you don’t even know how an abstract painting makes you feel, you just know it has moved you. That’s a valid reaction too. You’ve been invited to create space in your day when you don’t have to be organized or logical, when you can just take a breath and feel.
The only thing abstract art asks is that you don’t approach it literally. See where the colors, shapes, and rhythms take you.
An abstract painting creates a kind of sympathetic resonance. If you make a musical string vibrate, a nearby string of the same length will pick up that vibration and begin to vibrate too, without being touched. The connection between an abstract artist and viewer is similar. The artist doesn’t try to move the viewer directly by saying, “Look at this beautiful field.” The connection is more mystical.
When you are moved by something you cannot explain or put into words, you are reminded that life is bigger than logic. Abstract art goes beyond decoration—you enter through the eyes, but it invites you to transcend what’s visible and step into a deeper world of emotion.