Mike Allen

Michael Allen Punke, a well respected workshop and individual art instructor, has been teaching for over 35 years but his creative spirit found strong roots in his childhood. Born in Iowa in 1958, raised mostly in California, Mike’s creativity and artistic vision have been with him for as long as he can remember. For part of his childhood, his family moved to Ohio, where Mike fell in love with the textures and smells of the stone and wood found in the corn fields and old barns. Inspired by these natural elements, Mike explored various approaches in technique and style to bring them to life on canvas. He has never stopped growing and learning from these early experiences. Two passions came out of this early background and remain to this day; landscapes and the structures that inhabit them. From barns and missions to rooftops and entryways, Mike enjoys the play of light on structures and the discovery of what is hidden in their shadows. This fascination is embodied in one of his favorite quotations from Rembrandt: “Without atmosphere, a painting is nothing.” These interests led him to one of his favorite artists, John Singer Sargent. Mike’s admiration for Sargent’s work has given him a great deal of inspiration in his own artistic expressions. By the time Mike started teaching part-time in 1976, working in other people’s studios, he was already painting for himself 25 hours a week. He began teaching full-time in 1999 and finally opened his own studio in Fountain Valley in 2005.

 

Subject ID: 70878

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Michael Allen Punke, a well respected workshop and individual art instructor, has been teaching for over 35 years but his creative spirit found strong roots in his childhood. Born in Iowa in 1958, raised mostly in California, Mike’s creativity and artistic vision have been with him for as long as he can remember. For part of his childhood, his family moved to Ohio, where Mike fell in love with the textures and smells of the stone and wood found in the corn fields and old barns. Inspired by these natural elements, Mike explored various approaches in technique and style to bring them to life on canvas. He has never stopped growing and learning from these early experiences. Two passions came out of this early background and remain to this day; landscapes and the structures that inhabit them. From barns and missions to rooftops and entryways, Mike enjoys the play of light on structures and the discovery of what is hidden in their shadows. This fascination is embodied in one of his favorite quotations from Rembrandt: “Without atmosphere, a painting is nothing.” These interests led him to one of his favorite artists, John Singer Sargent. Mike’s admiration for Sargent’s work has given him a great deal of inspiration in his own artistic expressions. By the time Mike started teaching part-time in 1976, working in other people’s studios, he was already painting for himself 25 hours a week. He began teaching full-time in 1999 and finally opened his own studio in Fountain Valley in 2005.

 

Subject ID: 70878

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