Description
‘Just Beyond’ by Michael Patrick Bailey
Artist: Michael Patrick Bailey
Title: ‘Just Beyond’
Medium: Oil on Illustration board
Dimensions: 16″ x 20″
Framing: Unframed
Year of Creation: 2023
About the Artwork:
“Just Beyond is a nocturne depicting a little family of deer hanging creek-side in a stand of trees, shrouded by the evening humidity. Left of center, a curious fawn sticks close to mama on alert. A stack of does graze to the right, noses to the dirt, though one gal on the edge of the moonlit meadow seems to show some interest. Fireflies pepper the scene, like miniature lanterns hanging in summer twilight.
I wanted to make something that feels simultaneously nostalgic and a dream of the future, at least to me personally. The inspiration for this painting comes from my experiences as a young man, spending hundreds of nights camping through midwestern summers. In the first few weeks of June, tiny little pulses of yellow and green would signal the real start to summer. Everything felt mysterious yet promising – the darkness wasn’t scary anymore, it was soft. Magic. I looked forward to it every year and felt it never lasted long enough. With my eye to the future, I can’t wait to see that staccato of yellow and green again, this time with my girls by my side.” – Michael Patrick Bailey
About the Artist:
(Artist Bio)
Michael Patrick Bailey was born in Indianapolis and raised in the Miami Valley just south of Dayton, OH. A self-taught painter, his experience as a lifelong sportsman and lover of the outdoors blazed the trail for him to become an award-winning wildlife artist. Michael’s work strives to be more than bucolic landscapes and serene animals, it’s a study in aloneness — hoping to evoke memories of contemplative moments and quiet connection with the viewer, the artist, these creatures, and the places we all call home.
His wildlife and landscape works are featured in many private and public collections and have been shown in New York, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Salem, Cheyenne, Livingston, Honolulu, and beyond.
Additionally, Michael is a published illustrator — his works include the comics Uprooted, The Happy, and the Le Poux series, as well as the children’s books Now We Are Seven and Stella Rose and the Sea Dragon.