Michael
Fratangelo

I am a firm believer in Joseph Campbell’s idea that you should follow your bliss. I knew I had found my bliss with painting so I had no choice but to follow that path. People often ask me how one “becomes” an artist. I don’t think this is possible — you either are an artist or you are not. If you are, as Picasso said, you work out of necessity. You truly have no choice, and if you don’t, you will suffer.

My path as an international visual artist began at Penn State University. During studio classes, professors pulled me aside asking, “Is that what you see? You really have something.” I was largely shaped by teaching artists John Bowman and Ann Shostrom, who mentored me. In Bowman’s class, lightning struck — I was caught by painting. I knew I had found it, my purpose.

I have come to understand my painting as a gift. Each work is a search to penetrate the visible reality into the deeper mystical realm. The colors, signs, symbols and shapes in my portraits tell the story of the spiritual essence of the people. It is guided painting — they just come through me.

Each portrait begins with a conversation. I first interview my subjects to create a foundation for the work — asking about their mentors, life-shaping events, favorite music, food, clothing, seasons, and time of day. I ask how others would describe them, and I ask about their childhood. I then request 3–5 photographs.

I enter the studio and do a series of sketches from these photos and interviews before starting on the canvas. The colors, shapes and symbols that emerge are not planned — they reveal themselves through the process. Depending on the size, a portrait typically takes four to five months to complete.

Each work is a revelation — art that bridges the physical and the spiritual, uncovering the spiritual architecture that lies beneath physical form. The portrait is not a representation. It is a transmission.