Michael Parkes (born 1944) is an American artist working in the art movements of magical realism and surrealism, where he focuses on the beauty of the female body, but not ordinary girls, but mystical and fantasy heroines that do not exist in real life. They resemble the academically correct naiads and goddesses of Bouguereau, Cabanel, Lawrence Alma-Tadema: just as perfect, coldly detached and impersonal. Parkes, as a matter of principle, did not use the services of ordinary models, so that the images he created would not have even a shadow of human individuality.
Flute
The space of his paintings is usually gravity-free and full of air, with very simple and minimalistic backgrounds. The main thing, however, is the girls themselves and the other characters that surround them: often various animals that would never come so close to a person in normal life. They are always carefully drawn and create the feeling of a vivid and memorable dream, which is pleasant to remember and want to see again.
Music of the soul
The objects of his paintings, animate or inanimate, are the peculiar bricks from which the artist builds a complex puzzle, opening the door to the mysterious and tantalizing world of his own magic realism. Therefore, he often violates the laws of gravity and classical composition, giving free rein to his imagination.
Maria
The main thing is the triumph of beauty and aesthetics, in which various symbols and even philosophy are hidden - a pleasure for aesthetic art critics, who appreciate Parkes' paintings very highly. And ordinary viewers are just happy to admire his paintings, everything pleases the eye.
Three Graces
Parkes began drawing, like many artists, at an early age. As a young man studying graphic arts and painting at the University of Kansas, he became interested in avant-garde and abstract expressionism, but later returned to a more figurative painting, understandable to all, where aesthetics, rather than the creative vision of the artist, comes to the fore. Or rather, he rethought his work in the direction of magical realism, a technique he mastered perfectly and even taught for several years at the same university where he had once studied.
Heaven
And in 1970, Parkes faced a difficult choice: creativity or philosophy, which he was seriously interested in. Parkes chose philosophy and traveled to the East, where he studied Buddhism, Kabbalah, esoteric teachings, trying to understand his path and his true purpose. But the need to provide for his family was more important than spiritual studies, and he returned to Europe, where he began painting for a living.
The gift of miracles
However, the years spent in the East in search of truth, allowed him to create his own style of painting, to fill the paintings with hidden meanings and a lot of symbols, to display the knowledge gained in a graphic form, pleasant to the eye and available for understanding to ordinary viewers.
Angel
Parkes held his first solo exhibition in 1977, and since then there have been many in various countries and cities. His artworks are eagerly bought by collectors, paying decent money for them, mentioned in the world's bestselling books, in particular, in Dan Brown's novel “The Lost Symbol” and even organized dance performances based on them.
A master of heavenly painting
In general, Parkes is a respected and well-known artist who has managed to prove that even in the not too serious genre of aesthetic magical realism with beautiful girls you can achieve a lot if you treat it not only as a way to make money, but also as an opportunity to reflect your philosophy and creative vision.
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