Michael J. McEwing

In all of my work, I seek to express a spiritual respect and sense of wonder for the beauty of the natural world and our place within it. After many years of navigating through various topographies across two continents, I have developed a rich understanding, sensitivity, and appreciation for natural landforms that have evolved over time. To me, every landscape is embedded with stories, both from a human and a natural perspective.
In recent works, I consider the landscape from a new perspective – a view from beyond the stratosphere that is informed by technology. In these works, I do not attempt to imitate nature with painterly brushstrokes. Rather, I allow the paint to react naturally to water, air, and texture. Paint and elements settle into the support just as nature itself settles into a landscape. In all the works, there is at least one mark or imprint – a human-made element or ideal – that encounters the natural forms of the paint or support. These elements, which may include computer boards, machine remnants, maps, numbers, or taped lines, indicate the evidence of human ideals within the natural world.
However, the resulting images are not meant to depict a battle between opposing forces of nature and technology, but rather they seek to find a harmony between two colliding sets of aesthetics.