Michael Spence

Born in London, raised in Los Angeles.

As a child I loved to draw and paint. Later, in high school, I continued my art education. But after three years in the military I became enamored of photography and filmmaking. I received a degree from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara while simultaneously taking classes at the Santa Barbara Art Institute, followed by a long career in the film business, primarily as an editor and occasionally as a director.

A few years ago I decided to return to my first love and began taking watercolor classes with Helen Groenekamp. Eventually, I discovered acrylic paint and collage.

I love the freedom and spontaneity of acrylic paint. Most of my work begins with a vague idea that becomes more fully formed as paint and sometimes, bits of paper or old photographs coalesce, creating something new and often quite different from what I had intended. How this happens is a mystery to me but a mystery that I accept wholeheartedly and revel in.

Robert Rauschenberg, Jim Dine and Cy Twombly are artists who have influenced my paintings.

Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara Art Institute, Santa Barbara, CA

LA Art Show-bG Gallery Gestalt Project
Los Angeles, CA, 2019

144 Space, A New Gestalt Project-bG Gallery, Santa Monica, CA August 2018

"Constructed" 13 Los Angeles Artists represented by Saatchi Art, Santa Monica, CA, 2018

Brentwood Art Festival, 2016
Brentwood Art Festival, 2015