**Wave**Acrylic on canvas, 46 × 60 in (116.84 × 152.4 cm)

**Bikini Island**Acrylic on paper, 17 × 23 in (43.18 × 58.42 cm)

**Leap**Acrylic on canvas, 46 × 60 in (116.84 × 152.4 cm)

**Pink Slips**Acrylic on canvas, 36 × 48 in (91.44 × 121.92 cm)

**Cellphone Attention**Acrylic on canvas, 27 × 36 in (68.58 × 91.44 cm)

**Reach**Acrylic on canvas, 46 × 60 in (116.84 × 152.4 cm)

**Warm Windows**Acrylic on board, 18 × 24 in (45.72 × 60.96 cm)

**Wrecking Ball**Acrylic on canvas, 46 × 60 in (116.84 × 152.4 cm)

**Footprints**Acrylic on canvas, 36 × 57 in (91.44 × 144.78 cm)

**Attempts**Acrylic on canvas, 36 × 57 in (91.44 × 144.78 cm)

**Blocked**Acrylic on canvas, 27 × 36 in (68.58 × 91.44 cm)

**Warning**Acrylic on canvas, 32 × 42 in (81.28 × 106.68 cm)

About

Artist Bio

Fine Art was not my first priority! Growing up in a working class neighborhood in Philadelphia, family and friends were what mattered. With a BFA in Illustration, I was able to work as an Art Director and support my family. Now retired, I’m a dedicated painting fool with a focus on whatever-the-hell I love. That love is my passion for creating realistic, stylized images that have meaning, shaped by 35 years in commercial editorial design. Thoughtful art is my mantra.

Artist Statement

I paint images that I see in life and on the Internet. Utterly fascinated by the sheer volume of pictures posted electronically I scroll and scroll until I come across a picture that persuades me to paint it. Of course I have to make it mine first; by collecting the reasons it lured me to stop at it, second, why that image has left a mark on my conscience and third, differentiate the image’s meaning from my own experience of how it relates to my life. It’s painted, then it goes back into the electronic realm by posting it anew.

CV

Michael Trinsey, Clermont, FL
michaeltrinsey@yahoo.com
michaeltrinsey.com

Education

Associate Degree (AD), Art Institute of Philadelphia, 1976
BFA, Illustration, University of the Arts, 1980

Exhibitions and Awards

2012 Winter Show, Darley House, Claymont, DE
2013 Solo Show, “Transitions,” Darley House, Claymont, DE, March 15 – May 10, 2013
2015 Junebug Art Festival, Metuchen, NJ. Winner, Best of Show. Winner, Most Creative Window Display
2017 Regional Semi-Finalist, Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series, Philadelphia
2018 STP (Serving The People) Group Show, Milk Gallery, New York, NY. An open-call exhibition of outsider and experimental art: 43 works hand-selected from over 800 submissions
2025 Winter Garden Library Solo Show

Graphic Designer / Art Director (retired)

Began as an intern at the Shimer von Cantz advertising agency in Philadelphia and was hired as a graphic designer before the first day was over, impressed with my work ethic and creativity. Continued part-time at the agency while studying full-time at the University of the Arts.
Art Director at Chilton/ABC Publishing as the digital revolution began in the mid-1980s and desktop computers transformed the tools of graphic design.
Over 30 years in editorial magazine design, working as an illustrator in-house and freelance.
Received numerous in-house and Philadelphia Art Directors Club competition awards.
Received the Jesse H. Neal Award for business journalism and design.

From Commercial Art to Fine Art

The Internet formed, and search engines created an infinite possibility of influential images. The researched pictures are inspirational to me. I began collecting and visualizing many of these images as fine art paintings, and a creative pathway to my painting style emerged. My paintings reflect this merger of the many researched pictures and ideas, composed and simplified.

Paintings

Red Line

Sketches

B&W