Two Limes – Calamities of a Young Manhattan Recluse
November 7, 2018Infallible
November 9, 2018
His work is unique, cinematic and very personal, representing a meeting place between fiction and reality. With the artist Theo Michael it is all about the story his paintings inspire. Characters, larger than life, which could be taken straight out of a movie set find themselves in contemporary scenes. Femme fatales and shadowy heroes, do they know each other, what are their plans?They say truth is stranger than fiction. It all started in 2004 when Theo visited the Edward Hopper exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London. The gallery attendant repeatedly reprimanded Theo for getting too close to the artwork. He had to get close, he was absorbing the detail of the brushwork and technique. Bearing in mind Theo was unable to get employment at the time, and nearly old enough to retire, he made a life changing decision. He was going to become an artist. This book of more than 40 original paintings with accompanying short stories is the result, and not unlike Hopper, it is all about the story. The book idea, Every Wall Needs a Story, was conceived after watching an interview with J. Michael Straczynsky, an American television and film screenwriter (notably the science fiction TV series of Babylon 5). Straczynsky’s life story and passion for story telling inspired Theo to pick up a pen and create a collection of fictional short stories to accompany his paintings. Often with a twist ending, not unlike the low budget B movies of the 1950’s, they offer a Noir like sense of atmospheric brooding, with a twinkle of indulgent fun.Enjoy this coffee table book, brimming with studies, original paintings, all accompanied by fictional tales, adding an intriguing dimension to Theo’s evocative artwork.
