Michael Protiva

"Life is a creative process and art is an extension of that process."

Michael Protiva's interest in art began while he was growing up in the tropics of Venezuela. He was inspired by nature's vast array of colors, textures, shapes, and forms. Experimenting with many media and styles, he developed a unique contemporary style and technique. Having painted professionally for over forty years, he currently works out of his studio/home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Protiva's technique employs oils, acrylics, air brushing, powdered pigments, modeling paste, and elements of macro photography in digital form. He works on an aluminum surface in or on layers of epoxy resin. Each layer is a canvas. The work has a dimensional quality and is quite luminous. The art piece is floated over an aluminum back plate. Each piece can take four weeks or longer to complete.

Protiva is primarily self-taught. Through experimentation, he developed his own unique method of painting. Each painting is a learning experience: what is learned from the painting just completed is applied to the next painting to be done. It is an ongoing process.