I was next to Michael in a MarketPlace at a previous ArtOMatic (I think that was MOMA) and I had the delightful experience of getting to know him better and of watching an expert represent his own art. He is a true inspiration – and tirelessly upbeat.

That may have been ArtOMatic 07 – at any rate, I interviewed Michael then (didn’t do that many in 07 – he was at the top of my picks). You don’t want to miss that interview because I didn’t repeat the questions for this interview – it’s a great look into a working artist’s life. You can see the interview here, along with some of his earlier art pieces.

Since then I keep running into him because, as I said, he is tireless and one of the best self-promoting artists I have met.  I think I may have mentioned that I’m in great favor of that?  And definitely want to support any artist who’s up for putting themselves forward.

You can find Michael in the NW section of the 11th floor in room number 141 this year.  He has the whole room to himself  and says he was really excited about that because he can control the lighting and so it made it easier to display his blacklight-reactive paintings in their full glory.  You really have to go by and see them in their full glory because what I’m showing you here does NOT capture them the way they are meant to be captured.

Michael is a long-timer at ArtOMatics.  “ArtOMatic is a DC tradition.  It keeps getting bigger and better.  It has such a great vibe- everyone is so energized and excited about art.  It’s a party that I wouldn’t dream of missing!”  He even participated in

ArtOMatic/Frederick MD last fall which he describes as a lot of fun.  “It was a smaller scale ArtOMatic (which made it easier to take in) plus Frederick is such a cool little art town.  I sold a number of paintings and met a lot of great people!”

You do a lot of art shows and are a great inspiration for artists who want to make a business of their art – what are your tips for aspiring and working artists to keep on keeping on?

Be different.  Find your unique voice and then shout it from the rooftops!  Take on as much as you can handle and always strive to become better.  Join art organizations to network with other artists.  Get a copy of the Graphic Artist Guild’s handbook for help with pricing and contracts.  Don’t undervalue what you do.  Believe in yourself and keep creating.

[I could write a whole blog just on that response – in fact, I may just print it out and post it right over my computer!]

Michael just participated in a show in downtown Rockville, MD over the Memorial day weekend.  If you want to keep up with his next gallery shows and the art events coming up that he’ll be participating in, he suggests signing up to his free mailing list on the contact page of his website.  He also promotes events on his blog and Facebook fan page:

blog:  http://Arty4ever.blogspot.com
Facebook:  http://facebook.com/OffbeatArtwork

Additionally you can check him out on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/Arty4ever and his main website http://Arty4ever.com

Michael was also very helpful to me when I was tearing my hair out trying to move my own blog from Typepad to WordPress.  He is generous with his knowledge and I can’t say that about 90% of the folks I ran into during that time.  He was very upfront about not being able to meet my particular needs as well as gracious in looking over it all and very responsive and communicative (and oh there are so many out there who aren’t).

Michael and his work are always favorites of mine at any ArtOMatic – he is definitely on my “must see” list whenever I am somewhere he is showing!

To read more interviews and see more photographs from ArtOMatic 2012 and earlier ArtOMatics, go here.