Seth Michael

After a 10-year hiatus, what made you return to art at this moment in your life?

Art has been something that has always been a part of me and who I am. My 10-year hiatus was an unfortunate sacrifice I made while attending to become a nurse. Between my work and school schedule, I saw my art as a luxury that had to be sacrificed. After graduating from nursing school in 2017, I developed a “bad” habit of not creating art. I had many failed attempts to bring it back into a daily habit. Over the past year, I was reminded how much I need art in my life. I made a conscious effort to get back to my art. I started working on paper portraits again last year and my art became a habit again. I am glad to have it back.

How did that long break change the way you see art and your own creative process?

When I came back to art, I was very self-critical of the work I was creating. It did not feel as good as the art I created before. I doubted and criticized; every pencil stroke, every brush stroke and even the colors of paper were wrong. If it was not perfect on the first attempt, I abandoned the piece. My creative process was at a standstill. I had all these concepts and ideas for pieces I wanted to create but when I sat down to create art, there was a disconnect between my brain and my hands. It made me realize that art is a discipline, that it needs to be practiced on a regular basis. I worked hard to get back to my art. I went to art museums to get inspiration to start creating art again. I found that even in those museum quality pieces, there are still crooked lines, simple brush strokes and even the original pencil sketches were still visible. It taught me that perfection isn’t the goal. The goal is to trust the process and enjoy the ride.

Seth Michael | Flapper | 2025

You primarily work with paper – what attracts you to this medium, and what limitations or freedoms does it give you?

In my mind, paper is a foundation of the art world. I think that artists and non-artists alike start their journey with a blank piece of paper and crayons or markers. We move from there to sketches, drawings, and doodles. Paper is a medium that is easily found and can be used in so many different ways. I love transforming and evolving that foundation into something more complex. Using simple sheets of paper to make a portrait creates limitations that I find fun and enjoy solving. Working primarily with 12”x12” scrapbooking cardstock can severely limit the colors available. It can make any subject difficult, and finding a solution can be a fun challenge to my artistic abilities.

Your works feel quiet, introspective, and emotionally restrained. What role does silence or stillness play in your art?

Art gives a glimpse into the artist’s mind and soul. Creating art enables me to silence my anxiety. It gives me a chance to self-reflect; it’s my way of meditating. I don’t want my art to say, “this is what I was going for,” rather I want the viewer to create their own thoughts and opinions of the piece. I don’t think art is meant to be just one thing, it’s meant to be different to everyone viewing it. In my pieces, turning the background into negative space, the focus moves primarily to the subject. This creates isolation, stillness, and silence which allows the viewer to focus on the subject. My hope is to disconnect them from the distractions of the world around them.

Seth Michael | Lady in Green | 2025

Many of your recent works focus on female figures. What draws you to this subject matter?

Female figures demonstrate not only beauty but, wisdom, bravery, passion, and elegance with just a simple gaze. It’s the hidden qualities, the silent emotions, and the raw energy I want to capture.

Color plays a strong symbolic role in your pieces. How do you choose your color palettes, and what do they represent for you?

Up until recently, I have always used the color of the reference photo as my guide. With limited color options it may not have been an exact match, so this gave me artistic license and the challenge I enjoy. Skin tones are frustrating as they are hard to match especially when most of my pieces need 5 to 8 different values of the colors. I did a few in just black and white, but I always loved working with colors. I decided to mix the two and complete the portrait in black and white but chose a single color to highlight the portrait. I picked the color palette first, then found the subject that best fits that color. This led to an art deco teal for “Flapper”, the calming and hopeful green for “Lady in Green”, and the contradictory yellow for “Maiden”. It depends on what colors I can get a hold of.

Seth Michael | Maiden | 2025

Living in Las Vegas, a city known for excess and spectacle, how does your environment influence – or contrast with – your artistic vision?

As a local, Vegas is like any other community, except our bars have poker, the gas stations and grocery stores have slot machines. Being away from the overpowering scene of the Las Vegas Strip when I’m creating, it doesn’t usually directly influence my art. As I have returned to creating, the Arts District in Vegas has been growing. Through that I have met some amazing artists who have been very supportive in my return to creating art. It has turned into much bigger influence on this amazing journey and I cannot wait to see where this will take me.