Michael C. Gricus

At a very young age I was always inspired by the fine art's, and music, and more particularly the similarities the two shared. Subquencially as an artist I quickly found many similar interests between my art making and that of the music that inspired me to paint. As artist's much like musicians we find we are using our work as a language that best communicates what feeling, emotion, or whatever creative idea that we are trying to express; and this language is constantly growing and evolving, allowing unlimited possibilities to emerge. 

Over these past 2 decades I have developed several different "languages" or bodies of work each implementing several different techniques but feel there is a common chord throughout. Each portrait and abstract start off with an improvisational technique, much like a musician starts a new song. In the initial stages of a painting I rely on intuitive mark making for I believe that intuition builds the framework for the rawest forms of creativity and originality. While doing this I am constantly manipulating and experimenting with my ability to create some sort of visual structure amongst the underlying chaos of the paintings. Much like a musician layer's notes and harmony's I college multiple layers of original sheet music and or lyrics of the subject I'm painting. This creates a stong foundation for the painting and then allows me to eventually bring the portrait to life.

Michael C. Gricus

Photos by Michael C. Gricus

.