Studio Notes

Calypso black and white portrait wood print by Michael Vargas
art story

Calypso: What the Negative Space Won't Say

Inspired by a boarded-up construction site in downtown LA, photographed one night on a hunch.

art storyZenith abstract face art print by Michael Vargas

Zenith: A Face That Won't Sit Still

A mirrored, symmetrical face, staring back — one of the first pieces I built around that technique.

art storyBirds & Pair A Dice art print by Michael Vargas

The Story Behind Birds & Pair A Dice

Where the surreal birds, the dice, and the numbers 5 and 9 came from, and why this piece keeps finding its way into people's homes.

art storyDisguise The Limit art print by Michael Vargas

Disguise The Limit: Carnival, Masks, and the Infinite Self

A piece built around Caribbean carnival headdresses, and what they taught me about the masks we all wear.

art storyFour Phases of Te Amo art print by Michael Vargas

The Four Phases of Te Amo: Painting How Love Actually Moves

Love doesn't move in a straight line. This piece tries to paint the four phases it actually passes through.

art storyYou Used to Hold Me art print by Michael Vargas

You Used to Hold Me: What the Hands Remember

This one came from a song before it came from a painting."You Used to Hold Me," by Ralph Rosario featuring Xaviera Gold, is a Chicago house record I've come back to more times than I can count, the...