Painted Layered Glass Sculpture by Michael Frank Peterson
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About the Artist

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Bio

​I was born and raised in a small town (at the time) in Utah named American Fork. I was raised in a thoroughly blue-collar family. My parents were very supportive and hands-on parents. However they were very worried when I wanted to go to college to get an art degree. Dad suggested he could get me a good job at the steel plant where he worked. (Now gone) I started out to be a fine artist my freshman year at Brigham Young University. I went from fine art to graphic design and then fell in love with industrial design. I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in that field. I had a thirty-four-year career as a trade show exhibit designer that I loved. I especially loved three dimensional design. People would ask me what I did for fun, and I’d say, “My job.”

I did oil painting as a hobby except for a fifteen-year break when life just got too busy and too demanding. After I retired, I took up art again as a hobby. After about a year, I wanted to see if I could do it professionally.

Loving art and missing three-dimensional design

I was selling my traditional paintings and prints in shows and online, but I missed doing three-dimensional design. I toyed with the idea of somehow combining three-dimensional design with painting. I did a few simple paintings using layers of glass or clear acrylic mounted in shadow boxes to see if the idea was valid. I took those paintings to a premier art show in Salt Lake City. I noticed they got a lot of attention and good reaction. In fact, these two paintings got more attention than all my other paintings combined!

Turning Point

When I was driving home from the show and asked myself two questions.
  •  “What am I doing that would differentiate my art from all the other artist?”
  • " What is it about my paintings that would make collectors remember me and my art?”
My answer was “Nothing! Absolutely nothing!”   I was a “Me too” artist, doing what everyone else was doing, and I wasn’t offering anything unique to my prospective clients.

I also remembered the attention my glass paintings got at the show. That’s when I knew that layered glass showed some promise.

The more I thought about it over the next several weeks, the more I knew I wanted to combine my love and skills in 3D design and my love and skills in art.

I did a lot of research and did a lot of experimenting to find out what worked with layered glass and what didn’t.  I finally developed a concept that gave me the dimensions and depth that I wanted but did not break the bank with material costs.  I could also now do effects that gave me the freedom to explore and see how far I could push what was possible in this media. I found the sweet spot where I’m doing what I love and painting unique sculptures that fascinate my clients and have endless possibilities.

Mike also teaches oil painting classes online and in-person. Click on the  "Lessons" link in the "Other" category to check it out.

Artist's CV Statement
Education:
Brigham Young University - BFA in Industrial Design
Design Director – Full-Service Exhibit Companies
  • The Expo Group
  • Imagecraft Exhibits
  • Southwest Displays & Events
  • Heritage Display Group – Dallas
Freelance Exhibit Designer
  • Repeter Exhibit Design
Professional Artist
  • Michael Frank Peterson – Artist
Studied Under:
  • Treavor Southey
  • Ben Lustenhour
  • Jim Gensheer
  • Pepper Crary
Associations:
  • Oil Painters of America
  • Texas Artists Coalition
  • Arts Council of Fort Worth
  • Artium – A Consortium of Visual Artists – Board Member at Large – Social Media Presence
  • The Inspirational Art Association
Teacher:  Art Classes & Workshops
  • In-person art classes – Mansfield, Texas
  • Online Art Classes – Arlington, Texas
  • In-Person Oil Painting Workshops – Show Me the Monet Gallery of Fine Art – Arlington, TX
Juried Art Shows:
  • Unique by Nature Art Show – McKinney, Texas - 2015
  • JSMB2016-Salt Lake City
  • JSMB2018 – Salt Lake City
  • JSMB 2019 – Salt Lake City
  • IFC WINTER FEST 2020: New Beginnings Art Exhibition – Dallas, Texas

Contact

Phone & Text: 817-308-9711
Email: mike@michaelfrankpeterson-artist.com
Address: 2119 Pinwood Circle Arlington, TX 76001

© COPYRIGHT 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Sculptures
  • Commissions
  • Email Subscriptions
  • About the Aritst
  • Videos
  • Process
  • Contact
  • Publications & Exhibitions
  • Portfolio _ San Antonio