35th Annual Art In The Park Featured Artist: Michael Winston
W Michael Winston Creates Unique Floral Compositions With Magic Markers.

Michael Winston is a master of the magic marker medium. Once again, he will be a part of the exceptional group of artists represented at Art in the Park this Sunday, July 20. "What gives me the most satisfaction is to see the look on people's faces when they find out that my artwork is created with magic mark- ers. The amazement is hys- terical!" said the artist. "I love to hear that the artwork makes them smile. People have called it "feel good" art. If my art makes you feel good, then I'm satisfied."

His three dimensional use of color has made his work stand out wherever it has been shown. Winston works in a surrealistic style, and refers to his pieces as "floral dreamscapes". The rhythm and movement of his dream- scapes invite and excite one's imagination. "The closer people get to my art- work, the more they see things that they missed from a distance." Using Prismacolor brand permanent magic markers, he makes the colors "pop" from the paper. "My color is important; it is candy for the eye." Complete flower compositions of art, using strictly markers, is what he is best known for. "My floral works best utilize the spectrum of the medium I work in. Because they have many true colors, when grouped in a bouquet, they invite your eyes to dance from color to color."

Sometimes people are surprised to discover that his full time career is in education, as a health and physical education teacher at Warrensville Heights Middle School, something he has dedicated the past thirty four years of his life to. Years ago, while supervising a study hall one day, with the football season (therefore no practice schedule to write for Winston the football coach ... ), he started to draw, "whatever was coming to my mind, and without thinking about it, just doodling. Every teacher has magic markers in his briefcase, so that's what I used."

His goal at the time was simply to make artwork to display inside his house. After fellow teachers and his wife Dawn encouraged him to get his artwork framed, he agreed to frame a few of them, instead of laminating. The initial reaction of the framer was, "That's watercolor! You can't do that with markers!" She was truly astounded by what Winston had created, and strongly suggested that he enter his first art show, in Russell. As they say, the rest is history. "I participate in 13 or 14 shows a year, most of them during the summer season, which is a perfect set-up for a teacher.
Most take place in the Cleveland area, although we are slowly branching out. We do a couple of shows in Columbus, into this year we juried into shows in Cincinnati, Lexington, KY and Rochester, NY". My wife, Dawn, is the engine that turns the engine on! Without her, this art thing would not exist. She a organizes everything, does all the computer work, helps set up and tear down the shows, and is chief critic to every piece of art viewed by the public," Winston stated. "Dawn is constantly building my confidence and coming up with new ideas. I would be lost without her."

In His initial brush with art happened while he was a student at Cleveland State University in the early seventies. Winston took ' enough art history classes to earn a minor, but decided that sports were more fun. "I did very poorly in the studio class (painting); I finished one picture the entire quarter, while every¬one else was churning them out. I couldn't compose the way they were composing, so I just let it go." That is until 1990, mobilized during Operation Desert Storm, The Chief Petty Officer ended up bored during some night watches, and turned to sketching. Upon his return home, Winston simply filed everything away, and until that study hall moment at the Middle School, his gift for drawing stood still.

Creating fine art with magic markers, a medium typically associated with children's drawings, is not as easy as it appears: "My drawing is done in school, usually in study hall, homeroom or during my prep period. I do most of my color work at night. I may stare at the paper for an hour before I put the color down. You can't experiment with marker. Once that marker ink hits the paper, it's there. You can't dilute, you can't move it, it's there." Winston's art-work is something therapeutic for him. "I sit in front of the television, light my pipe and I'm in my own fantasy world!"

"My art is a visual joy It does not have a social message or a philosophical "meaning". My art may say "nothing", but it asks: What do you see?" Discover for yourself at this year's Art in the Park.

Sunday July 20, 2008 from 11am - 6 pm

by Nicole Dannery - July 15, 2008

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