Quiet, Detailed Artworks by Michael Mahoney


A still life drawing of several objects in pastelStill Life with a Tipped Metronome, pastel on paper

Michael Mahoney is an artist based in Macomb, Illinois. Working out of a studio in a commercial building, Michael creates quiet, detailed artworks in oil paint and sometimes pastel. His subject matter is of a classical nature, usually still-life or model paintings.

 

A still life painting of a hat and a ceramic hand on a tableStill Life With Hat and Hand, oil on canvas

Many of Michael’s more recent works are created using pastel on paper. I like the texture that the artist is able to achieve in this medium – the strokes of pastel seem even and uniform across the paper and different forms, creating a slightly sketchy look. Objects and figures have edges that seem to vibrate, blending just slightly into neutral backgrounds and negative space. The artist demonstrates remarkable skill with a medium that is often temperamental, rendering faces, fruit, household objects and fabrics in smooth, uniform detail.

 

A screen capture of a gallery on Michael Mahoney's websiteMichael's gallery of Later Work

Michael is equally adept with oil paints, creating a very smooth painted surface that seems, at times, to simplify its subject matter into planes of colour and shape. His series of nude model paintings have a well-refined subtlety and elegance to them, combining the figure with intriguing objects and settings. 

 

A self-portrait drawing by Michael MahoneySelf Portrait with a Hooded Jacket, pastel on paper

Written by: Dallas Jeffs
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