Metamorphosis: Spiritual Awakening, painted paper collage, work in process The next show by the Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance is called "Metamorphosis," opening in March. I haven't ever made a triptych and I haven't told a story in my work in years. So, I thought I'd tackle both and make one…
Mike ChambersFebruary 1, 2014
Why do I paint doors? Long answer: they are rectangles so they make a nice, solid composition on a rectangular or square canvas, they are a perfect symbol with lots of meaning for me (passages, portals, thresholds, opportunity, and more), and because one of my formative moments in art school…
Mike ChambersJanuary 26, 2014
I'm kinda gettin' into the collage thing. It could be just a phase, but I have found it to be a great way -- on so many levels -- to spend time in the studio. Putting together a collage makes me think differently and faster about composition because it's so…
Mike ChambersJanuary 19, 2014
Princess Feather Hat I, painted paper collage, 5" x 7" Princess Feather Hat I, Instagram version
Mike ChambersJanuary 12, 2014
I'm just having a great time working on collages. It started with wanting to do something fun, and I revived the Princess Feather Hat image. When my daughter Lina was visiting over Christmas, she and I made collages together and I finished the second Princess F.H. This weekend I worked…
Mike ChambersJanuary 5, 2014
One of my favorite ways to have fun with art is to make a collage. I found the first Princess Feather Hat in my studio under some watercolors and thought it was the perfect image to inspire a new series. So, here's the second incarnation of the princess. State 1…
Mike ChambersDecember 29, 2013
It all started in 1986... 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Mike ChambersDecember 22, 2013
My painting Florence Doors made its debut last night in the Foray III exhibition, the new show put on by the Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance. The show runs through February 20, 2014. This painting appeared in an earlier form at the Thresholds show two years ago, but I put it…
Mike ChambersDecember 14, 2013
Lina moved to Chicago. Logan moved across town in Boise. Melissa and I are without our beloved kids in the house. So we text 'em, FaceTime 'em, call 'em, and look forward to visits. The Christmas card this year still shows the family together, made possible by the miracle of…
Mike ChambersDecember 8, 2013
I took an image of a painting from several years ago and worked it over a bit. Rory, oil on canvas Rory Angel
Mike ChambersDecember 1, 2013
It started a long time ago. My parents have home movies of me riding my bike as a kid. When I first learned to ride, my method for stopping was to crash. They must've tried to teach me about brakes, but I wasn't interested. After that I enjoyed tons and…
Mike ChambersNovember 25, 2013
I painted a bunch of little canvases with a naples yellow ground and I'm having fun experimenting with different approaches and styles. These are photos of a few of 'em in process.
Mike ChambersNovember 20, 2013
Each month I make a little image to decorate the Treasure Valley Artists' Alliance website. The site needed something to help remind people that the content was changed at least monthly, but it was also an excuse to make word art. I finished December today, warmed by our fancy fake…
Mike ChambersNovember 16, 2013
A tradition at our house is to make Christmas gifts by hand. I came across this composite image of nine tiny little door paintings I painted a couple years ago. Good inspiration for this year's gifts. Christmas Doors, oil on canvas, each painting is 2 x 2 inches a little…
Mike ChambersNovember 10, 2013
Here's my first "angel" painting that I completed a while back. It was one of those days when I was painting and wiping away and painting and wiping away.... my typical, frustrating approach to working. I wiped away the gown but the paint came off only partially. It was just…
Mike ChambersNovember 9, 2013
One of the cool things that an image editor app like GIMP or Photoshop does is to give me a chance to view a painting in process with new changes, new lighting, new effects, and a ton of other crazy stuff. In some cases -- in the best of cases…
Mike ChambersOctober 30, 2013
This little painting is almost done. Angel, oil on canvas, 8 x 6 inches
Mike ChambersOctober 28, 2013
Just found this photo of the actual street in New Orleans that inspired the Bike Alley series. The owner of the house was a pirate married to a princess and the bike itself was said to be ridden only at night by a ghost. The picture's dated 1898 but some…
Mike ChambersOctober 20, 2013
Talk to Me, Mark Rothkooil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches This piece was painted to help raise funds for Boise Contemporary Theater and for their production of Red, by John Logan.
Mike ChambersSeptember 27, 2013