Sharlamain Painting

Mike Biskup Everything and Everyone Connected I create imaginary landscapes and abstractions with watercolor and India ink. In my paintings, everything flows together. Diverse colors, lines and shapes - People, places, plants and things are woven into one harmoniously functional ecosystem. I want to subtly remind viewers that we humans, in all our diversity, are essentially interconnected, and with thoughtfulness, can function together harmoniously as well. How I work... When I start a painting, I turn on some music, sit down with a blank sheet of paper and choose whether to begin with black ink, watercolor paint, or masking tape. I rely on improvisation and a stream of consciousness approach to let my life's experiences bubble up and flow out as shapes and lines, colors and textures. Anything I've seen or experienced through the years may come forward. I let my work flow and I am most happy when the work seems to create itself. Whatever takes shape is OK with me. I relish surprises. After each layer of paint, ink or masking tape, I stand back. I watch. I wait. Sometimes I wait days, weeks, or even years to add another layer. This process of painting and contemplation is always happening in my studio with many different pieces in many stages of completion. Why I paint… ​ I paint to share what is alive in me. I paint to find out what will come next and... After nearly three decades of making and showing paintings, I have recently come to understand my role as that of an Artist/Shaman as elucidated in the work of Joseph Campbell. Briefly, this means to me, that my job is to share my visions of an interconnected, peaceful and beautiful world with others. I have created a life mission to help guide my actions: I create a world of unity and justice by generously sharing my visions of Oneness. My work is what you see in it... And it is also an exploration of what Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh has called ‘Interbeing’. “If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either.” - Thich Nhat Hanh. BIO MIKE BISKUP is a contemporary watercolor painter of imaginary landscapes and abstracts living and working in Port Townsend, WA. Born in 1970 in Los Angeles, Mike comes from a family historically rich in artists, poets, and dreamers. As early as he can remember, he was voraciously drawing ultra fast cars, funky dudes, and piles of interesting things with his two older brothers. In 1993, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Art at UC Santa Cruz. There he encountered a richly blended stream of artistic freedom, Zen Buddhism and Native American spiritual consciousness which has shaped his life and work ever since. Mike is currently embracing his role as a bringer of visions in the Artist/Shaman tradition elucidated profoundly by Joseph Cambell. His paintings can be found in collections worldwide, notably that of Oscar-winning actress Patricia Arquette and Facebook Inc. Galleries: The Port Townsend Gallery and Northwind Arts Center in Port Townsend, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts on Bainbridge Island, Face Guts Los Angeles, and .