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Harmony is not just a concept for Michael
Workman. It is the spiritual thread that twines his
life and family and what he strives for in his work.
"The work I do goes back to the rural atmosphere
I grew up in," says Workman. He was raised on
his parents’ cattle farm in a rural community forty
miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah.
The traditional values of his youth are still
important to Workman. They include strong
family ties and living in harmony with nature. He
is married and has three children. Workman feels
that there is more to life than money.
His paintings often have areas that are loose
and abstract. He leaves enough solid space to
pull in the viewer and surrounds it with loose
borders, providing space for the eye to fill. In a
sense the viewer participates in each painting.
"I purposely leave sections of my work unfinished,
I want the viewer to create with me," says
Workman.
Workman was influenced by George Ennis, who
thought art should awaken an emotion in
people. Workman paints landscapes, but he
does not want to be known as a "landscape
artist." Workman does not travel far afield to find
his inspiration. He likes to paint familiar subjects
such as rural country scenes. Workman likes to
use muted colors, the earth tones of an autumn
or winter landscape.
"Plump cows, black-faced sheep and sleepy
horses populate the pastures of Michael
Workman's brooding landscapes. The scenes
depict a rural America, but could exist
anywhere, from Connecticut to Copenhagen.
Expressively dreamlike, they capture the chill
when the sun goes behind a cloud, the wet-
earth smell of a drizzling rain and the autumn
rustle of brown leaves shivering in the treetops,"
states Lynn Pyne in Southwest Art, September
1996.
Workman enjoys painting livestock in rural
settings. Two excellent examples are "Red Tags"
and "Brood Mares". He has a special
understanding of cows, having been around
them all his life. Workman's process requires the
addition and subtraction of paint, letting
inspiration lead until the painting is finished.
"On a number of levels, his paintings are a
harmonious blend of opposites: classicism and
romanticism, thin and thick paint, warm and
cool colors, careful planning and spontaneity.
That flirtation between yin and yang is by
design, because in Workman's view, mastering
those opposites is a source of unparalleled
magic” (Southwest Art, Sept 1996). There is a
feeling of harmony in Michael Workman's
paintings, a peacefulness that comes from the
artist, soothes the viewer and draws them closer.
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