Michael Friel
Michael Friel paints quiet, compelling still-life compositions. His focus is the retelling of solitary moments with common objects. His paintings are muted, suggestive and spare.
Friel received his BFA in Painting from the University of Washington and has shown extensively in the Northwest. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Frye Art Museum, the Whatcom Museum of History and Art and at Seattle Art Museum Rental/Sales Gallery. He had a solo exhibition in 2000 at Plaza 600 in Seattle.
Friel's teaching, like his artwork, focuses on mastering an understanding of the simple relationships of all the parts. He teaches classes in cast drawing, life drawing and beginning to advanced oil painting. His students have rewarded him with consistent high marks on his evaluations. He has taught at the Academy since 1995.
Artist's Statement
I paint the still life in oil on canvas. I have always had an affinity for the still life--its quiet and peaceful quality provides great potential for formal and emotional expression.
In my studio, I have a collection of still life objects. Each object has a visual quality that I find compelling--the texture of a shell, the shape of a violin, the reflection in a vase. The table, the wall behind, and the light source become the architecture for these objects to exist within.
I work with the same objects repeatedly, each time creating a clearer sense of their painted image. I focus on their details, adjust their surroundings, and express their place in the balance of the composition. What is revealed is an endless source of shapes, lines, colors, and textures. This is the joy I find in painting.
I paint the still life in oil on canvas. I have always had an affinity for the still life--its quiet and peaceful quality provides great potential for formal and emotional expression.
In my studio, I have a collection of still life objects. Each object has a visual quality that I find compelling--the texture of a shell, the shape of a violin, the reflection in a vase. The table, the wall behind, and the light source become the architecture for these objects to exist within.
I work with the same objects repeatedly, each time creating a clearer sense of their painted image. I focus on their details, adjust their surroundings, and express their place in the balance of the composition. What is revealed is an endless source of shapes, lines, colors, and textures. This is the joy I find in painting.