Mike Kowalski

I have been drawing and painting as long as I can remember. Growing up in California as one of five boys, if I wasn’t building a wooden pirate ship with my brothers I was probably in the backyard drawing. I started entering art shows as a teen and eventually earned a BFA from Utah State University.  Raised in California and calling Marrowstone Island, WA home for many years, since 2014 I divide time between studios in Australia and Washington. I love my travels on the dusty roads of the West, sketching and painting in watercolors and oils.

I teach internationally and in the U.S. and quite enjoy the challenge of dropping into new territory with my brushes. In 2015 I was awarded the coveted Silver Medal of Honor at the 148th AWS International Exhibition in New York, and in 2018 was invited to exhibit in the Masters of watercolor exhibition in St. Petersburg, Russia. My work is influenced by John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, Ogden Pleissner, Emile Kosa Jr. and many of the great illustrators including N.C. Wyeth and Dean Cornwell.

I am passionate about drawing and painting, especially in watercolor. Watercolor is a medium that is easy to pick up but difficult to master. The best watercolorists in my opinion paint with supreme confidence. I can think of few things in life I enjoy more than the challenge of painting outdoors with my simple array of brushes, paper and paint. It is a challenge I can easily lose myself in for hours.