Description

Michael Sieve is widely hailed as one of the world’s foremost painters of wild animals. Sieve has spent more than 40 years seeking inspiration in the natural world and channeling it into captivating images that challenge and fulfill him.

Sieve paints in a contemporary style, with a keen eye for detail and a masterful understanding of animal behavior and anatomy that can only be learned through a lifetime of experience in the field. Meticulously realistic and beautifully composed, his paintings follow the artistic tradition shaped by wildlife legends Les Kouba and Bob Kuhn and continued by distinguished contemporaries such as Gary Moss, Robert Bateman and more.

An Artist’s Life features more than 280 paintings dating from the early 1970s to today. You’ll join the artist on adventure-filled journeys across North America, Central America, Africa and Asia and discover a vast portfolio of wildlife, including lions, tigers, bears, white-tailed deer and more. You’ll enjoy his gripping and refreshingly honest accounts of the experiences that inspired his artwork. In his stories, Sieve shares his deep commitment to land and wildlife conservation practices and recounts his adventures observing, photographing and hunting his wild subjects.

With chapter introductions penned by family, friends and esteemed peers, An Artist’s Life paints a robust portrait of this acclaimed artist.

Reviews

“The versatility that Mike shows in his work is outstanding. His writing is almost as good as his painting! I couldn’t put it down! This isn’t the kind of book that you bury in the back of your home library. It’s the kind of book that you proudly put on your coffee table because you’ll return to it for years to come.” ⁠— Bud Grant, former Minnesota Vikings head coach 

“When you see a Mike Sieve painting, there’s no need to look in the corner to see the artist’s name; Mike’s style is instantly recognizable. His incredible detail, not the “who’s got the smallest brush” kind of detail, but the more important ones of getting the plants, birds and animals right and matching the sky to the season, makes it clear that this is a guy who has been out there and experienced it all first hand. His intense dedication and commitment to deeply understanding and appreciating nature is evident in all of his works.” ⁠— Jim Hautman, six-time Federal Duck Stamp winner

“About the walls of my home, where most I work and dream, rest the paintings I love most. To earn a space there, they must with life’s breath masterfully sweep me away to recollection or renaissance. Spirit and soul, to places I have been or wish to be. Looms no surprise that many are by Michael Sieve.” ⁠— Mike Gaddis, senior editor of Sporting Classics

“Turn the pages of this book and you will see Michael Sieve’s wildlife artwork⁠—all a mirror reflection of his skills with a paintbrush.” ⁠— Ron Schara, founder of MN Bound television program