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Mike Rooney
I love to paint. I love to capture the essence of a three dimensional scene in two dimensions. It's my passion.
I recall an early interest in art, beginning with drawing and painting as a child – a passion that has continued all my life.
A native of Alexandria, Va., I studied art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., before joining the armed forces. The Air Force brought me to eastern North Carolina in 1977 and after three years and a tour in Korea, I opened a sign business in Goldsboro, NC.
Though I made my living with a brush painting signs, my fine art interests took a backseat to building a business and raising a family.
I rediscovered my passion for painting after seeing California style impressionism in one of my surfing magazines. I was hooked.
My previous style had been tight and realistic, but what I was seeing in the surf magazines left more to the viewers imagination.
Details were left out, and it was loose and exciting to look at. So I picked up some oils and a canvas, and a few books on plein air (outdoor) painting.
In one of those books it said - to become a proficient plein air painter you should try to block-in (lay in the large shapes and colors) one hundred paintings in less than 3 months, even if they can't be finished. I did the hundred "starts" (as they are called), and I can't seem to shake the habit, even now, creating over 150 finished paintings a year.
Image 18 x 24"4th & Shore St $600 oil
Coming on the Island oil $500
Another River View 9 x 12 $300 oil
At Logans oil $225
image 5 1/2 x 7 1/2"
image 5 1/2 x 7 1/2"
Pleasant Day image 9 x 12 oil $400