Art News and Articles: FAR® Featured Artist
According to Plan
Emerging Artist Michael Trant
"When I paint, the canvas directs the action. It's all about the release of energy. Shapes cling to the edge of reality, their meanings formed by a growing collective imagination. The transference of energy can be amazing if you are open to the experience."
To hear Michael Trant talk about his art, you'd think he has been painting for most of his 39 years. To browse his website, you'd think you were looking at an artist whose style is moving into maturity after decades of work.
In both cases, you'd be mistaken. For here is an artist who clearly has a plan for what he wants to accomplish and whose example demonstrates the progress that can be made when one's vision is clear and one's energies are focused. You see, Michael has been at this for less than a year. Talk about emerging fully formed from the brow of Jove!
Yet, for all the roiling energy in Michael's paintings, the evident kinship with Jackson Pollock doesn't extend beyond the canvas. "A major theme that runs through my life and work is duality," he explains. "It's more evident in
the Energy Series, where colors are fighting for balance. Another is motion. I want you to get a visual workout."
"This was all pre-planned. I’ve been working on
this transition for a few years now."
Hardly the words you'd expect from a man who less than by a year ago was a senior accountant at a large Washington, DC, based public relations firm. When asked how someone who was obviously making a mark in the corporate world could simply walk away to pursue the insecure life of a painter, Michael's response supports his assessment of
the duality running through his life: "I needed business experience, so I dove into the corporate world to get it. I'm thankful for each and every opportunity I've had, but
have always had something else in mind. This was all preplanned. I've been working on this transition for a few years now."
Clearly, Michael was not swallowed whole by the corporate existence but instead, merely using it as a stepping-stone to get where he wanted to be. In retrospect,
one should have seen it coming.
"My parents taught me the importance of everyday
creativity."
Early Years and Influences
Born in Alabama in 1968, Michael moved at a young age to St. Louis, where he grew up. He'd been artistic from boyhood, drawing as child and taking to photography as a youngster. "My parents taught me the importance of everyday creativity, which gives equal weight to all moments of inspiration," he says.
At the University of Kansas, he studied architecture and then enrolled
in Savannah College of Art and Design for graduate work in film and video.
With work as an assistant film editor, it looked as though he would establish a career in the film industry for himself. But when work slowed down, Michael jumped at the opportunity to get experience in business. So he shifted gears and
trained as an accountant.
What followed was 10 years of immersion in the business side of life: inventories, payrolls, human resources, financial administration, credit management, a steady progression up the corporate ladder to success.
And while Michael may have harbored a dream to one day enter the art world, who knows exactly when it would have occurred had he not one day in February 2006 brought home the wrong kind of paint while renovating his house. "I
bought the wrong sheen paint," he says. "I decided to play around with the excess and did my first painting, an 8 X 10 study. I had always wanted to paint, but that night I up and did it. I painted half a dozen early pieces, most of which no longer exist."
By then Michael could sense that his corporate career was peaking. Painting at night and on weekends, he prepared himself throughout the rest of the year for what he terms "a real journey of faith" on which he now finds himself.
Although Michael is just emerging onto the scene, he clearly has given art some thought all the while. He cites artist Paul Ryan, one of his professors from grad school, for giving him perception. Other influences that Michael credits include artist Mehmet Dogu for development of his eye; friend and fellow Phoenix artist, Kyle Jordre
for "his guts;" Russian watercolorist Anatole Krasnyanksy for his balance of color; Jackson Pollock for his energy and Lee Krasner for her patience.
"My paintings have moments you don't expect... after all, it's there for you to experience."
Asked to describe his art, Michael replies, "My paintings have moments you don't expect, which are getting more refined as I paint. You can stand back, get inches from the surface or lose yourself anywhere in between. You are free to go wherever your imagination allows. After all, it's there for you to experience."
As an example of the unexpected, Michael cites his painting Whisper, 2007 from his Savannah Series. "You may see a face in the bottom right hand corner of the painting that looks like a person whispering. Someone else may see what looks like a person
smoking, with smoke rising up through the piece. A surprised smoker may be asking another to whisper, so it’s all interconnected. I title my works to encourage that. Or you may see nothing at all, which is also a truth."
Michael feels he has been preparing for this stage of his life for a long time. Even during his corporate years, he kept original art around when he began collecting. The inspiration generated by looking at and collecting others' work kept his creative flame alive through this "dormant" period.
Making Certain These Beginning Steps Are Secure Ones
Having seen the art market from the collecting end, and having perceptive business acumen, Michael sees an encompassing viewpoint of the realities needed to make a
successful foray into the art world. "Artists have traditionally looked to the past to guide them creatively and in business," he explains. "Collectors, on the other hand, are beginning to look to the future when buying. I decided to start the Trant Gallery as a fully functioning online art gallery first, then build around it. I began where many collectors like to shop, at home."
This forward-looking vision soon connected him to the most progressive art site anywhere on the web, Fine Art Registry™. "I met Theresa Franks (FAR® Founder and CEO) in Phoenix at an artist's meeting and was impressed by how genuinely she wants to affect the art world," Michael continues. "[For her] it's not just about the registration of art or the database created, it's about artists and collectors."
When asked to describe the advantages of registering his work with FAR, Michael says, "It's a perfect match for a new internet artist like me. As a collector, I know how important authenticity is. My paintings already include a COA [certificate of authenticity] and my website serves as a permanent archive, but FAR tags and registration offer an additional layer of protection most collectors now expect.
"I'll continue to tag and register all my paintings with the
Fine Art Registry, just prior to release on my website. Not only does it provide additional exposure, but adds value to the collector's investment, so everyone wins."
Michael's current plans include exploring the online aspects of the art world, connecting with the myriad audiences out there on the web and finding out where his art generates interest. Though he'd love to see his art displayed, he's confident that his work will improve, and Michael is nothing if not patient.
He also thinks big. "As far as the future," he adds, "I'd
like to eventually expand the Trant Gallery into a brick and mortar operation with other artists' work as well, perhaps in multiple locations. Additionally, I'd like to add a museum
component. So there is a much bigger picture, I just want to establish my name and reputation first."
One comes away with the impression that events in Michael Trant's life are pretty much happening right on schedule. And will continue accordingly for some time.
Collectors interested in the early work of a talented
emerging artist, one with clear vision and an equally lucid plan, can see Michael's portfolio at http://www.fineartregistry.com/portfolio/MichaelTrant.
— by Dan Koon | July 9, 2007
Comments:
The views and opinions of individual authors/contributors expressed on the FAR® web site do not necessarily state or reflect those views and/or opinions of Fine Art Registry™ or its agents or subsidiaries.
Fine Art News Feed
