The Art of Michael Birawer

Portraits

2012-01-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

This idea started some time back in late 2011 – drawing, sketching and painting a whole lot of portraits of famous and notable Minnesotans, or folks who made an impact on MN. This is a sample of what could turn out to be hundreds of portraits.

I have always had a love for creating portraits going way back to grade school, and later I made a pretty good living off of drawing caricatures at fairs and stuff. These particular ones are sort of a combination of serious renderings to more cartoonish sketches. In my approach, I am considering everyone from local basketball great Lindsay Whalen to pro golfer Patty Berg, Chief Little Crow of the Mdewakanton Dakota Sioux to American Indian Activist Dennis Banks, Garrison Keillor to John Madden, and many more influential one time and permanent residents of the land of 10,000 lakes.

The scale of each portrait varies, and they can range from acrylic paint on canvas or wood to rough sketches and water colors. Some of them take on a scrapbook quality (especially the water color ones).

Once I have a satisfying amount of portraits, I will then start hanging them on a large wall collaging them in the shape of the Minnesota.

The project as a whole is both a history lesson for me and a tribute to the people who have shaped this state.

Finally Revealed!

2012-01-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

The work is titled "Sunday Afternoon - Green Bay". It is my latest installment of the stadiums and ballparks series. Though I am a Minnesotan and grew up in a Vikings family, the arch rivals Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field became the backdrop of the new painting.

Some may ask why I would paint this particular scene, and my answer is simple. Green Bay is the ultimate football town. I mean, the streets in this town are named after their legendary team – Lombardi Ave., Bart Starr Rd. and Reggie White Way. They even have a steakhouse in the name of ol' number 4, Brett Favre. This town is not crazy, they are certifiably insane!

The narrative for this painting is not so much about the team itself, but about the people of the community on which it stands. It is the only NFL team owned by the people and the only non-profit team in all professional sports throughout the U.S.. More than half of the composition is of the neighborhood and it's close proximity the the stadium. This makes for such a unique scene.

Although, as I am writing this blog, the Packers just got eliminated from the playoffs in a disappointing loss to the NY Giants. Well... there's always next year.

One step closer to reveal new work

2012-01-09T07:21:00.000-08:00

Here is the teaser to the new piece. And no, I have not developed a new style in the vein of Gerhard Richter or Chuck Close. Though they are like gods to me. I am obscuring the picture to the point of being unrecognizable. However, maybe not impossible to guess what it is. The houses in this particular area are pretty accurate. And who knows, maybe one of them is yours.

By the weeks end, I will reveal its true self in all it's glory.

New Painting Soon to be Announced!

2012-01-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hey to all. I am please to announce my next soon to be finished piece. I don't wanna give it away, but I will say it is going to be finished by the middle of the month. And it is going to raise some eyebrows.

I am totally diggin it so far! The only clue I am going to give is that it has to do with this time of year. And the fever in the air is high for this particular pastime. I will give you the answer in the next few days. Till then, keep guessing.

Fenway Park! It Has Arrived!

2011-11-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

The latest piece has finally been finished! It will be titled "Fenway Park - Boston", and will be available for prints and posters soon. The original specs are, 48" x 60" (flat).
Fenway is another installment of my ongoing stadium/ball park series. Unlike "Target Field - Home of the Twins", Fenway will be available in canvas reproductions.

As you look into the detail of Fenway, you will notice that the Red Sox are playing the Yankees on an overcast day. This particular game is based these two rivaling teams. David Ortiz has just hit a grand slam! The home run ball is flying over Curtis Granderson's head as he has no chance to catch it.

There is so much detail in this piece - Everything from , Yawkey Way, the Green Monster mascot, Lefty and Righty maskot, the Red Sox Trolley, the Peanut cart, and many of the surrounding bars and pubs, along with the cheering mayhem that is the Boston Red Sox Fans.

The Big Gallery Move

2011-09-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

Hey my peeps, the funky world of Bent Gallery will be no more! It is now moving to an even funkier world just down the hall in the fabulous historic Thorpe building. Ya know... the old white brick box. Team Birawer have strapped on their hard hats and tool belts and are going to work on the new Michael Birawer Gallery.

At this point we are making sure this transition is as smooth as possible. The MB online store and portions of Bent will still be operational and it is our plan to have all of the art moved by the end of September. Wow! That's this month. No time to talk. Better get moving!

Banana Drawing

2011-09-01T09:04:00.001-07:00

After listening to Fresh Air with Terry Gross the other day, it caused me to reflect on what everyday items we take for granted could someday disappear. Yeah I know it's only a banana.

Upcoming Work

2011-08-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

Yes! For all of you who have been requesting a painting of Fenway Park, well, here you go. Finally! The drawing went through several revisions, but it has narrowed it's way down to this version. Work should be completed by early fall. I will keep you posted.

Sketch of the day

2011-08-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

The Drifter

Ten Years Gone By

2011-08-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe that ten years have gone by since I painted "The Broiler" and "Hennepin Bridge". I can still remember it well. I was commissioned to paint the Henn/Bridge in early 2001. This was the piece that would eventually begin the branding earthquake that would soon be called "Michael Birawer Art". I remember that the client wanted this as a gift for his wife on their one year anniversary. He specifically wanted to have the downtown in the picture.
At this point, I was painting more directly what I was seeing in real life. So I did not put the Grain Belt bottle cap in the composition. It is almost like you are viewing the scene from the perspective of what the bottle cap would be seeing. Over the years my style has loosened up, and if I were to paint this scene again, I would probably put the ole bottle cap in.

The story behind "The Broiler" painting was a little different. By the time I finished the Henn/Bridge, I immediately embarked on working on a new piece to be entered into the St. Paul Winter Carnival by February 1st. I remember sending them some slides around November/December of some older (less polished) scenes I had painted years earlier as sort of a place holder (so they could review my application). When I found out they excepted me for an exhibit the the 2001 Annual Winter Carnival Art Exhibit, I kinda put it off until the last minute.

I had to create a painting that they could display at the Landmark Center. And I was under the gun, to say the least. I had less then two weeks before the work had to be delivered, and I had no idea what I was going to paint. And whatever it was going to be of, it had to be done quickly.
And since we lived in St. Paul (Mac/Groveland), I decided to pick the St. Clair Broiler as my subject.

I parked my car outside of the S.C.B. and sat there sketching it out. I wanted to make sure it had all of the correct details. The problem was, I was there so long and constantly looking in at the restaurant, that a S.C.B. employee came out to my car and told me I was making the patrons nervous and wanted to know what I was doing there parked for so long. I explained to her I was drawing a picture of the building and that I was going to be leaving very shortly. They were very nice and understanding about it all. I had to leave without my sketch completely drawn out. So I ended up bringing my old art school Minolta manual camera out, and took a couple of shots of the place (This has now become the standard process for all of my paintings, except now I use of digital camera, of course).

Then there I was, in my dark and dingy basement in St. Paul with my canvas sitting there on the easel all blank. I said to myself, "Hmm... How the hell am I gonna approach this one". So instead of using the process I did for Henn/Bridge (which took me two months to complete), I needed to rethink everything. So instead of drawing it out on a white primed canvas, as I had always done before, I decided to paint over the white with black. Then I drew it out. I kept everything very square and geometric (unlike the previous Henn/Bridge). The colors were flattened and everything was outlined in a black feathered contour. This was also the first painting where I introduced texture. The 3 foot x 4 foot painting ended up taking me one week to complete, and ever since. "The Broiler" had become the turning point in it's basic process and style. It really was the true birth of the branded "city scene" style which each following painting was based.

In Coming! New Seattle Work

2011-05-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

The other day I had my latest painting photographed and am in the process of making color corrections for print. This painting took me around 2 months to complete (off n on). This original piece dimensions are 36 in x 48 in. Which lands in the semi-small original size category.
It is however one of the most detailed pieces (for it's size) I have ever done.
It is dark. It is moody. But that is exactly how I wanted it to turn out. It feels like I am walking through a dream and life is not quite what it seems.

My small Video

2011-02-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I have a little too much time on my hands in the studio and a cheap point n shoot camera set to video. One thing leads to another and boom, I have a spoofed video based on 1970's TV show, Starsky & Hutch.

With my version, I took a very iconic TV car and painted it in my style, along with my spin-off characters called "Distortsky & Hutch" (click on link for a better res version). The whole three and a half minute video shows myself in time lapse fashion wrecking up a large piece of plywood and painting onto it's surface.

The purpose of this video, is mostly for entertainment. But it is kind of a cool way to show the process of how I work. It is also my intention to share this and also have others share it as well.
So let's spread the joy, viral style.

Autism 5k Run

2011-02-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

Over last couple of months I have been working with a non-profit organization called C.A.D.E. (Children with Autism Deserve Education). Here is there website: http://autism5k.org/wp/2011/michael-birawer/

What C.A.D.E. were looking for was an illustration that commemorates their annual 5k race - which takes place this year at Lake Harriet on May 21st, this spring. The illustration I painted shows a runner fixed inside of a jigsaw puzzle piece that is hovering over the voided opening to it's right. This narrative tells the story of how we see our goals in front of us, but we still have not quite filled in the the open space. Though we hope to connect the final piece one day, we can celebrate our ongoing efforts today.

The proceeds will benefit local families affected by autism as well as research and is to be distributed through the nonprofit.

CD Cover Design

2011-02-04T10:59:00.000-08:00

At the moment, I am working with a band on designing the front/back cover of their upcoming cd.
The band's name is Marshall Cretin from Minneapolis. Great guys, and a lot of fun to work with.

For now the sketched out figures are acting as place holders for when it gets illustrated. It will have a feel much like my photomontage work.

The album should be out later this spring.

Remembering Orchestra hall (1974)

2011-01-25T07:52:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays I was finishing up this painting of Orchestra Hall. Earlier this month I had completed the work and I believe it is one of my best. It has a real sense of welcoming and warmth. It is the most musical piece I have ever painted.

This was a commission through the MN Orchestra. I am not sure exactly what their plan is with the original, but the image will be seen on various printed collateral. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed painting it.

Trying to find my way

2011-01-24T13:05:00.000-08:00

Here we are in 2011 - a great time to be alive, right? I feel incredibly lucky to have stumbled into being an "artist". I guess I am capable of doing many other things. But by the good graces of some higher power, I get to make art for a living.

What seems more real to me then making art, is how it connects with others. And though I sometimes struggle with whether my art has a coherent message, one thing I know is certain. The art sends out positive vibes. People may think my art is cool - and heck, I may think it is too. But the art is nothing without the peoples interaction. So, in spirit, we are all apart of the art. It really belongs to all of us. I think that is the message.

I know I am fairly new to this blogging stuff, and haven't built up a huge following yet, but for you who are following me, please let me know what you think. And thanks for following me.

Inspiration: Strange Brew?

2010-11-22T14:47:00.001-08:00

I'm certainly not above any idea. Especially when it comes to taking inspiration from the screwball comedy Strange Brew. This idea was brewed up (sorry for the pun) while I was working on photo color correcting a picture taken of the old Schmidt's/Landmark Brewery on West 7th in St. Paul.

It happened to be late one night when my wife was scrolling through instant stream Netflix and came upon Strange Brew. I had seen snippets of it before, but never in it's entirety. Not only was the film good, it was also educational. I never knew you could grow a mouse inside an empty bottle of beer and get a full refund.

So earlier that day I went over to St. Paul to shoot some pictures. While I was driving down West 7th, it hit me. I absolutely have to take a picture of this amazing brewery. It happened to be in the middle of the day with an overcast sky which didn't make for a very exciting shot. So I knew I had to work my Photoshop magic to whip this picture into something dramatic. All it took was a little dose of Bob and Doug McKenzie to pull this off.

Anyway, this old Schmidt's Brewery had a similar architectural feel as the fictional Elsinore Brewery. In the movie, the brewery was always dark and ominous. And that's just what I needed to do to the photo I took. Make a daylight overcast picture look dark and ominous.

This West 7th "brew castle" is truly a thing of beauty. When I dug deeper into it's history, I discovered insightful information that could make this photo montage even more rich. By adding an old Schmidt's beer truck making it's way eastward, it tells a little story about our St. Paul neighborhoods history, eh.

A Cowboy plus Benton

2010-11-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

I guess I have thrown all the rules out the window with these particular montages. In the top picture, I have featured three Americanic figures standing in front of a bizarre gun store right in St. Louis Park called The Frontiersman Gun Shop. I have driven by this place many times and each time I have said to myself, "I gotta paint that". The "three armed amigos" are a cowboy, a Daniel Boone type character, and a retro mid-20th century hunter.

The bottom picture features the early 20th century regional artist Thomas Hart Benton painting a picture of Lake Calhoun. The narrative here is, I wasn't sure if I could do justice to painting a Lake Calhoun scene, but I new that Benton could. You can see for yourself.

New Photomontage Prints

2010-11-10T19:17:00.001-08:00

Due to the overwhelming reception of the New York City photomontage prints at the last spring show, I have decided to do more of them. This time the subject matter will be the Twin Cities.
Here is just a taste of what is to come at the December show.

Orchestra Sketch

2010-11-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a sketch that I have been working on with the Minnesota Orchestra. There will be a couple corrections to this drawing, but the bulk of it will remain. It will later be made into a 4ft x 5ft acrylic painting (flat).

The overall theme is to capture a summer evening at the Hall displaying a whimsical feel of orchestral musicians, school fieldtrip kids, jazz ensemble, and street performers all standing outside of Peevey Plaza. Should be a really fun piece!

NYC . . . Done!

2010-11-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

This has been a week of running around trying to get stuff ready for next months holiday show. With the completion of my new painting titled The Brooklyn Bridge - New York City, I have made it my top priority to get it photographed and color corrected so we can have posters and prints ready by this month.

NYC is the latest installment of my coast to coast U.S. city skyline series. It now joins the ranks of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago, Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, and Washington DC. There is some consideration for the next city I paint to be Boston, Miami, or maybe New Orleans. I think each city has it's own unique feel. Creatively, I don't think I can miss on any of these.

Coming up next
I am currently working on more photomontage work. Except, this time it will be all local scenes. These too will be limited edition prints in which I'm hoping to have 10 different montages that represent different spots of the Twin Cities.

Additionally, I will be working on a commission for the Minnesota Orchestra which will be finished sometime in early January 2011.

New York

2010-10-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a trip to New York. After walking the Brooklyn Bridge (yet another time), I finally found inspiration for my latest painting, "The Brooklyn Bridge / New York City".
There are so many different ways to show off this city, but the one I wanted to start with, was this kick ass bridge, and the surrounding Manhattan skyline. For me, bridges represent the gateways of the city. This project has been a long time coming and I'm looking forward to having it completed in the next couple weeks.

Above photo is an incomplete closeup of the work. Original size is 84" x 39".

A Time For Comedy

2010-08-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

You know, it has almost been a year since Rick Bronson's House of Comedy had their grand opening in the Mall of America. It was this very room where myself, and the help of others, installed the 32 foot original artwork that drapes over the 14 foot stage. The room is quite large and the piece holds its own as the center point. I have been to many other comedy clubs, but have never seen one like this. I was so proud to be a part of it's design.

Pictured above: L to R pic 1. Kevin Nealon, pic 2. Jerry Ariganello (my right-hand man), Rick Bronson, Michael Birawer, pic 3. Norm MacDonald.

In Studio 8/13/10

2010-08-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I am definitely on schedule for the completion of the Washington DC piece. You will not have to wait for the mid-term elections to be counted in November. With fingers crossed, I should have this ready by the end of the month.

The photos above show the progress of where things are at presently. As you can see there is still quite a bit of black that needs to be blocked in. The challenge I am faced with, is to make sure the streets and bridges keep to some geographic legibility. Over to the right of the piece is Arlington Virginia which will show a portion of the Pentagon. The very center of the piece will show the Lincoln Memorial with Jefferson Memorial slightly off to the center right. Stay tuned for more progress shots.

In Studio 8/03/10

2010-08-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Been scratching my head on this DC piece. After all of the scenes I have painted, I am still discovering new and better ways to work. One of the new ways is drawing with a paintbrush to establish each of the shapes of buildings, trees, etc., where before I would draw them strictly with a pencil. I feel like the brush draws things in a more expressive way. I guess I should have known this, but was always afraid to change the most basic technique for fear of messing up a formula.

O'Gara's Done. Gallery open Thursday

2010-07-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

Come and see the latest painting, O'Gara's at Bent Gallery This Thursday July 29. The Doors will be open from 5:30pm to 9pm. Click on the link below and then click "Map" on contact page for directions: http://michaelbirawer.com/contact.html. Hope to see you there.

A Day of Rest

2010-07-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

One thing about me that is for sure, is that I am an artist that likes his rest. If I don't get my eight hours, I am not pleasant to be around. Otherwise, I am the nicest guy in the world. Well, thankfully, I got my 8 last night and am now considering taking the day off from painting, creating, and keeping my thinking to a bare minimum. Nikki and I are thinking of maybe going to see a movie this evening and maybe watching the Twins today. I guess I just have little to say about art today. But tomorrow I pick up the pallet and brush again with full enthusiasm!

O'Gara's...Step by Step

2010-07-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show some of the process of creating my latest piece called O'Gara's. The above photos show how the painting develops step by step. I am currently at this stage (far right picture) and as you can see, there are still shapes that need to be painted in. I am at a point where I can really get a good sense of how this piece will turn out. So far, so good.

Today's DC scramble

2010-07-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

This morning I am contemplating how to approach my Washington D.C. piece. I know it will be 3 dimensional and approx. 6 feet wide by 3 high. But the real question I ask myself is, how do I cram all of those monuments into one composition? While I eat my scrambled eggs this morning, I will also scramble for ideas on how to make this composition work.

As a quick update on O'Gara's, I am making excellent progress on the painting. I am shooting for finishing it sometime next week.

Upcoming works

2010-07-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

Super pleased to have released two new cities under my belt: Golden Gate - San Francisco and Kerry Park - Seattle. Those prints are now available on canvas. http://michaelbirawer.com/store.html. The posters will be ready in about a week.

I have taken the last two weeks off to work on house projects, but now that they are done, here is what's coming up in the next couple months: I have began working on two new commissions including the long awaited St. Paul locale, O'Gara's Bar and a scene of Washington DC.
Hopefully these will be ready for print by September.