Playing with Fire ā the whole story
Author: Mike Schick
Oil and acrylic painter based in the Pacific Northwest
Playing with Fire – the whole story
I was probably eight or nine years old, living in Indiana, and I was trying to start a charcoal fire in a cooker in our backyard. The fire was not going well. I remember being dissatisfied with it. I wanted to help it along. At that age, I already had the instinct to solve a […]
Overboard
Overboard ā the whole story
Overboard – the whole story
Overboard ā the whole story I was about twelve years old when my grandfather decided I was finally old enough to go fishing by myself in his boat. To a twelve-year-old boy, that was a pretty big promotion. It was a very hot day, and at some point I stood up in the boat just […]
Bear Encounter – the whole story
The Bear Chauncey and I had hiked this canyon many times. It wasn’t far from our house, and on this particular day we made the familiar short drive to the trailhead. I remember something strange about that drive. As I looked at the surrounding hills, I seemed to be seeing images in themālines and shapes […]
Deluge in the Canyon – the whole story
The Deluge Chauncey and I had hiked this particular route many times. It was really a combination of two canyons. We would hike down a broad canyon for about a mile until we reached a normally dry streambed. Then we’d follow the streambed back up through a much narrower canyon, eventually returning to where we’d […]
Chauncey and the Cliff – the whole story
Chauncey and the Cliff I had walked the trail around Vallecito Lake many times. Chauncey usually went ahead of me, as he always did, exploring the trail while I followed behind. I rounded a turn and noticed something odd. The path seemed to lead directly over the bankāand Chauncey was nowhere in sight. I knew […]
Bear Encounter
Bear Encounter ā the whole story
Deluge in the Canyon
Deluge in the Canyon ā the whole story
Chauncey and the Cliff
Chauncey and the Cliff ā the whole story
That’s Easy!
Pee Wee Trump?
Life at the top
Preparing for November?
Where is Melania?
Another Reflecting Pool Saga
Defib Donnie?
A different way to look at it
Frog Pond
I showed this painting to my 4 yo granddaughter when it was still a work in progress, and she said “frog pond”, so I knew I was on the right track. This is an acrylic painting of a small lagoon on Beaver Creek shortly before it empties into the Pacific at Ona Beach in Oregon
Biden? Really?
Look on the bright side…
Little Nestucca
Concentration
I came across this Golden Retriever cavorting in a stream while his owner threw a ball for him. Watching him brought back memories of my own Golden, Chauncey. There was something almost humorous about his single-minded focus on that ball. Water, rocks, currentānone of it mattered. There was only the ball. But there was something […]
Just Blowin’ in the Wind
Fishing with my Brother
Last Fishing Trip with My Brother This painting is based on a photograph taken during the last time my brother and I went fishing together. It was on Payette Lake, north of Donnelly, Idaho, where he lived. It was a crisp winter day. The lake was quiet, the air cold, and we spent the day […]
Chauncey
Chauncey was my constant companion through some of the happiest years of my life. We explored countless trails together, and watching him run freely through the woods was a joy I’ll never forget. This painting is more than a portrait of a dogāit is a remembrance of those days, the places we shared, and the […]
Black Mesa
Black Mesa This painting of the iconic Black Mesa was a milestone for me. I approached it with deep respect, knowing the site carries religious significance for Native people of the region. As I painted, it felt less like applying color and more like carving the mesa out of an ancient seaāas if I were […]
Portrait of Nancy
Portrait of Nancy This portrait was an experiment in restraint. Rather than completing a fully rendered color portrait, I began with a traditional grisailleāa monochromatic underpainting that establishes the structure, light, and shadow. Over that, I applied only the slightest hints of warm blond tones, allowing much of the original grayscale to remain visible. The […]
