Michael Tolleson

I am a relatively recent transplant to the world of canvas art, although I have a history of dabbling in design, color and artistic projects my entire life

My Physical Being and Paintings:
I am presently represented by The Gallery-Coeur d’Alene ID, and I participate in various Washington Art Walks including The Capital Hill Blitz, West Seattle Art Walk, and the Freemont Art Walk in the Seattle metropolitan area.. I look forward to reaching audiences in other regions of the country beginning in 2011. Originally from Texas, I have lived in Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania, before settling in Seattle’s downtown with my artist partner.

My Artistic Being:
My art travels between two paths; one more realistic and the other more abstract and soul based. I always begin by observing and reviewing photos of places and pieces of landscapes. The photos act as a tool to isolate whatever interests me, and in the process, the ordinary will reveal something extraordinary about their place in my world. These images provide the “bones’ for my work. My paintings capture a moment; a feeling; a future. I am strongly influenced by the Asian culture and my approach to my painting style emulates a “Sumi-E” artist’s manner of addressing his art form. The paint on the canvas provides a doorway to my world and my desire to touch another receptive soul.

Jack Carl Anderson
I am fortunate to be the heir of a long line of adventurous and educated men, beginning with our great grandfather Carl Anderson, a native of Sweden who immigrated to America in the early 1900s. With him came a love of the outdoors and an appreciation for independent thinking, fostering the mindset that produced photographers, lumberjacks, field guides, and independent businessmen in subsequent generations. Some of my best memories are of my grandfather and I working together in our darkroom, developing our color and black and white photographs that had been taken at the harbor or in the mountains.
My formal education includes a degree in world history and classical studies. Informally, our parents encouraged our own young creativity and always had paints, pencils, paper, stencils and cameras for us to play with. As an artist, I am mostly self taught, learning from the forms and colors and light all around us.

At Shanti Salon and Spa we will have food and beverages and are featuring the Aveda Pumpkin Pedicure.