Who the heck is Michael Pintar?
Just a guy living in Wisconsin, juggling family life with a career, and trying to fit in my passion for making art. That's me. It goes way back and has come full circle. It started on the shores of the Pacific Ocean painting along side my grandmother off the beachfront by Palos Verdes, California. I didn't know what that was about, but it turns out plein air painting (on location, outside) goes back to the days of Rembrandt and was glorified by the Impressionists, such as Monet.
I took a lot of time off between those early days and about 1990 when I started picking up a pencil again to draw. Right out of high school I landed a job as a draftsman, so I know how to handle graphite and draw straight lines. I worked as a mechanical designer until 1984 when I went back to college. My dream was to be a fashion illustrator, maybe venture down to Chicago. But that didn't happen and I came out of school and worked as a keyline paste-up artist for about a year. A friend of mine was working at a technical publications company and said I should try to get in as an illustrator. Isometric perspective was something new for me, but I managed to bs my way in, and ended up working as an illustrator for 5 years. During that time I didn't do much of any art, except for a few graphite portraits. I was too busy working.
By 2000 I had started my own software development company, sold it, and got fired by the new owners. What to do? I had got involved with Grand Valley Artists which allowed me to get back into being creative. I also learned how to use pastels. I had some time on my hands so I started painting more. My daughter was in a Michigan elementary school and I saw a need to offer more art to those kids than what was being offered. So, Aspiring Artists was born: An after-school art program that grew into 12 schools that found me hiring college kids to help deliver the program. We moved from Michigan back to Wisconsin, and I introduced the program to our new school district. Four new schools let me run the program. Hundreds of kids. Interested in the eBook about starting this business near you? CONTACT ME
I took a lot of time off between those early days and about 1990 when I started picking up a pencil again to draw. Right out of high school I landed a job as a draftsman, so I know how to handle graphite and draw straight lines. I worked as a mechanical designer until 1984 when I went back to college. My dream was to be a fashion illustrator, maybe venture down to Chicago. But that didn't happen and I came out of school and worked as a keyline paste-up artist for about a year. A friend of mine was working at a technical publications company and said I should try to get in as an illustrator. Isometric perspective was something new for me, but I managed to bs my way in, and ended up working as an illustrator for 5 years. During that time I didn't do much of any art, except for a few graphite portraits. I was too busy working.
By 2000 I had started my own software development company, sold it, and got fired by the new owners. What to do? I had got involved with Grand Valley Artists which allowed me to get back into being creative. I also learned how to use pastels. I had some time on my hands so I started painting more. My daughter was in a Michigan elementary school and I saw a need to offer more art to those kids than what was being offered. So, Aspiring Artists was born: An after-school art program that grew into 12 schools that found me hiring college kids to help deliver the program. We moved from Michigan back to Wisconsin, and I introduced the program to our new school district. Four new schools let me run the program. Hundreds of kids. Interested in the eBook about starting this business near you? CONTACT ME
And then I found a gallery in my current hometown. And then I won a few awards. Another gallery. More art produced. More commissioned portraits. Hey, I'm almost an artist! But reality is my lifestyle requires a bit more cash than what I could earn as an artist. So back to work I went. But, I've got a new start. More energy. More opportunities. Plus, a lot of art is piling up in my studio.
