MIXED MEDIA PAINTINGS

Painter and artist, Michael Snodgrass was born in St. Helena, California. With only one high school class in art Michael started painting street scenes and cityscapes. At the urging of his parents, he left the art world and did not return to it until the mid nineties while living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He became immersed in the Santa Fe art scene and developed a deep love of primitive, Native American, Mexican and African tribal art. After moving to the Monterey Bay Area in California, he started experimenting with his own primitive style, incorporating elements of abstract expressionism. He explains his work as a take off on the religious icons painted in Mexico and New Mexico called Retablos. He refers to his as “irreverent Retablos or paintings that glorify the inglorious.” His fascination with scoundrels, chicken thieves, river rats and art critics is evident throughout his work.