All artists have an interesting story
about how they came to recognize in themselves a particular
talent and need to express it – whether on canvas, in
music, on the stage or in any other form of creation – and
the rest of us take great pleasure in reading how each
unique artist came to be. The following is such a story.
Michael Jurogue Jordan was born in
Chicago, Illinois into a family of artists, engineers and
classical musicians. As a child he liked to color with
markers and crayons. When his mother was working in
stained glass, he became fascinated by the colors and
shapes, and she sanded down the edges of some glass pieces
so he could feel them, work with them and experiment with
how the colors changed when overlapping.
Park School in Evanston, which Michael
attended, shared a peer tutoring program with a neighboring
elementary school. Michael’s young mentor showed him how to
draw using basic shapes and together they drew trucks and
cars and Cape Canaveral. At home his parents set him up
with markers and butcher paper on a roller, so he could
practice and experiment at will. Rocket gantries became
apartment buildings, and landscapes emerged in the process.
At school Michael enjoyed art class as well as drama, music
and dance as opportunities to express himself. One of his
teachers called him an artist. He took her words seriously.
Committed to his new passion, Michael
needed studio space and he needed to paint every day, all
day. His early works were abstract color fields, already
showing a sense of form and composition. When he became
interested in painting cats, he began the process of
learning accurate representation - how to look and think
differently, how to control his tools, and practice,
practice, practice for a year. He learned how to fill
canvas space by tracing cats onto a template, drawing an
outline on his canvas, and then filling in the background
first.
To his cat repertory Michael added
dogs, then flowers from still life representations, and
finally animals from his imagination and experience. He
now specializes in portraits, working primarily from
photographs of his subjects and has a successful cottage
industry producing commissioned artwork. There is a seventy
page catalogue of his work, which has been featured in a
number of publications, events and is exhibited in doctor’s
offices throughout the country. Posters of his artwork are
also available for sale.
Michael Johnson’s art reveals
harmony, playfulness and beauty in a pure and simple form
that is so compelling to the heart, mind and eye of the
beholder. Perhaps one key to Michael’s talent is the added
attribute of Down syndrome and the heightened perceptual
ability that often accompanies this genetic condition.
Visit Michael’s website at
http://users.psln.com/sharing/Michael/mainMichael.html
which provided the material for this article, to view his
gallery, commission a painting or purchase gift certificates
or posters.
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