Artist Michael Smelcher excelled in art classes as a young man, and after winning many art awards and the opportunity for a scholarship to Roane State – launched his fate. Continuing into the arts at UTK, he was singled out for an and an honorable mention. Studies in Art Education, Basic Visual Concepts, Art History and Art in Perspective at UTC, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee gave him hopes of becoming an art instructor. As with many artists, Smelcher received other opportunities for a corporate career that veered off the art path for his main career. For the last 20 years, Smelcher made his love of art one of the primary focuses, and currently, Mike spends his days as a full time artist. Shuptrine’s is happy to welcome Michael into the gallery as our newest addition with his hyper realist style of art. Bonny Shuptrine has said “Mike is just a joy. You can tell from his art he loves to paint, he loves life, and he just loves to love and loves to kind. He’s got an uncanny sense of balance and structure, and knowing his personality it fits, especially with the hyper realist style. “
“I’m a late bloomer. I started painting as a hobby in the 1990s. After studying art education I began painting due to encouragement from good people, friends and family. Acrylic paints are my medium of choice. I’ve never experienced a formal art class beyond high school, other than composition, i.e. drawing, painting, sculpture nor the like. I began painting seriously in the year 2000 but soon put the practice aside for a decade. I became serious about my art in 2011 when I began painting as a channel through which to process life’s events…therapy, if you will. Since then, I haven’t been able to put down my brushes for any length of time. I appreciate working in acrylics as they are a challenge at every turn for me. Discipline and the ability to start over helps prevent the technique from taking over my work completely and prevents me from getting lost in the act of painting for the sake of painting. I appreciate the factor that chance plays into my paintings as they develop–most often worlds away from their initial conception. I fill most of my time painting when I’m not working– however, painting is the place in which I truly feel ‘right’, where I feel true harmony and balance, at home and at peace. A change of locale inspired a change of subject matter, focusing on the things we often overlook or take for granted.”
