Mike Kraus

Hi, I’m Mike the artist of Mike Kraus Art Inc.

I’ve been making art since I could hold a crayon. As a kid, I’d fill every notebook, homework margin, and scrap of paper with doodles. I sold my first artwork in junior high, sketching in class and handing off pieces between periods. That early love for making things never faded. I followed it all the way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually, I decided to stop treating art as a side hustle and make it my life’s work.

My paintings are full of energy, motion, and saturated color. I’m drawn to bold shapes and organic lines—forms that feel alive. I create with the hope that my work brings something beautiful and uplifting into someone’s day. Whether it’s a spark of joy, a moment of calm, or just a splash of color that makes you pause—I want my art to connect with something real.

Now, I’m lucky enough to paint full-time, with collectors across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world. But more than anything, I still feel like that kid with a crayon, excited to create. I’m grateful to share this journey with you—and I hope you find something in my work that makes your world a little brighter.

BFA, 2003:
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

MPA, 2005:
Grand Valley State University
Grand Rapids, Michigan

EXHIBITIONS:
2024: Bring Spring Art Festival
2023: Upstate New York Holiday Art Festival
2023: Last Minute Holiday Art Festival
2023: Winter Holiday Art Festival
2023: Grateful Art Festival
2023: Fabulous Fall Art Festival
2023: Awesome Autumn Art Festival
2023: Artist Trading Card (and Small Art) Festival
2023: Open House Art Show, Cayuga, NY
2023: Bring Spring Art Festival
2022: Winter Holiday Art Festival
2022: Grateful Art Festival
2022: Fabulous Fall Art Festival
2022: Awesome Autumn Art Festival
2022: Winter Holiday Festival
2022: Grateful Art Festival
2022: Fabulous Fall Art Festival
2022: Awesome Autumn Art Festival
2022: Artist Trading Card (and Small Art) Festival
2022: Summer Art Party
2021: Upstate NY Gift Finder Party
2021: Online Winter Holiday Party
2021: Online Grateful Art Show
2021: Online Fabulous Fall Art Show
2021: Online Awesome Autumn Art Show
2020: 6x6x2020, Rochester Contemporary Art Center; Rochester, NY
2020: ARTvirus, ARTvirus; Houston, TX
2020: Closing Show, Whitman Works; Rochester NY
2019: Magic and Mayhem, Whitman Works; Rochester NY
2019: The Coffee Art Project, Los Angeles Coffee Festival at the Magic Box at The Reef, Los Angeles, CA
2019: The Coffee Art Project, New York Coffee Festival at the ...