Mike McSorley

Mike McSorley

Statement

As a child, I filled the margins of my notebooks; turning circles into spheres, extruding words, creating 3 dimensional objects from any shape. At the age of 8, my parents permitted me to take some photos with an old camera. My photos of bicycle wheels, sewage pumps and other inane objects vexed my parents (film & developing was expensive), but predicted some of the art I now produce. My epiphany came in High School: Art was what I was meant to do.

My works reflect my interest in form. The original techniques of shading and extruding have been augmented with color theory, atmosphere, edge quality and experimentation. I apply the concept of form to the landscape, focusing on the forms that make up the scene.

First the image is drawn using graphite and brushed around with turpentine. The background is blocked in, pulling the graphite into the paint and using it to darken and tone down the edges. This layer is thin and the ground of the board is allowed to reflect back. This increases the intensity of the color and by brushing, scraping and rubbing; the color can be augmented. Sometimes the lines are still visible in the finished painting and at other times I redraw the edges with pencil to add strength. I like to bring attention and importance to the common areas and objects around us.

Mike McSorley, 2016

Bottle

12" x 9"

Oil

$295.00

Roll of Bills

8.25" x 6"

Oil

$225.00

Fat Boy Hill, Ligonier

10" x 8"

Oil

$225.00

Garfield Park

8" x 10"

Oil

$225.00

Old Forestville School

8" x 10"

Oil

$295.00

At the age of 8, Mike McSorley was taking photos with an old camera. His photos of bicycle wheels, sewage pumps and other inane objects vexed his parents, as film & developing was expensive, but predicted some of the art he now produces. His epiphany came in High School: Creating art was what he was destined to do.

He graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Fine Art, and supplemented this education with classes and workshops from local and national artists. Immediately He rented a studio in Etna, outside Pittsburgh, and several others followed. Many jobs ensued, always focusing on what would allow the most time for art production. Finally settling on Art Handling allowed the time and had the added benefit of viewing art in private and museum collections. Currently, Mike produces art full time.

Mike’s work has been shown in regional and national shows, a handful of solo shows and has won several awards, recently getting first prize at Paint Berlin(MD)! Plein Air event. He is scheduled a solo show in 2018 at The Art League Gallery located in the Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA. In 2015 had a one person show at Gallery on 43rd Street in Pittsburgh, PA and a 2014 show at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, PA. Later that year he constructed the piece Possessions, for the Westmoreland Museum’s “Peddling Personalities” exhibit curated by Joan McGarry. In the spring of 2015 he was awarded a fellowship to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and was selected to participate in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Newspaper sponsored show, pairing poetry with visual art, curated by Rachel Klipa. His piece In the Kitchen was constructed for that show. A book was also published that featured the poems and artwork that accompanied them.

Mike moved to Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2015.