Michael Kuseske

"What a thrill to do what you love to do. How wonderful to create something that has never been seen before. How exciting to fashion something that you can enjoy and share with others. Mine is a dream realized."

Though flowers have been painted for centuries, Michael Kuseske paints them in a way seldom seen. His paintings are modern, intriguing, and beautifully dramatic. He celebrates the color and sculptural form of each flower in a way that takes your breath away. It's hard not to feel lighthearted when viewing his work.

Kuseske bases his paintings on flowers he has seen at botanical gardens and flower gardens across the USA. He looks for flowers that express a dynamic 3-D sculptural form and takes photos in direct sunlight to creates sharp shadow lines. He then interprets these photos into large-scale oil paintings.

Michael Kuseske took every art class available in college while training to be a teacher, followed by a couple of semesters studying at UC Santa Barbara. His dream of being an artist full time was then put on hold while he pursued a career as a marriage and family therapist. Finally, at the age of fifty, circumstances allowed him to begin painting full time.