Studio Notes

Carracolendas art print by Michael Vargas
art story

Carracolendas: Faces, Empathy, and the Space Between Us

Every face in this piece is carrying its own story. Here's how a single word turned into a canvas full of them.

art storyEcho Chambers art print by Michael Vargas

Echo Chambers: When One Face Isn't Enough

Echo Chambers didn't start as one face. It started as four or five, all fighting for the same square foot of canvas, and me refusing to pick just one.I kept layering them, overlapping the eyes of o...

art storyCalypso wood print art by Michael Vargas

Calypso: Finding a Face in the Wood Grain

Some pieces start with an idea. Calypso started with the wood.I'd been staring at a sheet of birch panel for longer than I probably needed to, thinking about how much of the grain I wanted to keep ...

art storyVooDoo Guey art print by Michael Vargas

VooDoo Guey: A Love Letter to the Dance Floor

VooDoo Guey exists because of one song, played at the right volume, at the right time, on a night I still think about.The title's a play on "Voodoo Ray," the A Guy Called Gerald track that's been a...

art storyTotem BWR Face art print by Michael Vargas

Totem BWR Face: Down to Black, White, and Red

Totem BWR Face is the piece where I made myself stop. Every color I could have added, every extra line I could have drawn, I didn't.BWR is exactly what it sounds like, black, white, red, and nothin...

art storyZenith art print by Michael Vargas

Zenith: Finding Stillness in the Gaze

A single gaze, painted at its peak. Why the eyes in Zenith carry the whole piece.