Friday, December 6, 2019

Great-Grandfather's Church

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


Great-Grandfather's Church #344
gouache paint and ink on Bristol paper
2.5" x 3.5" (6.35 cm x 8.89 cm) 
201912112
© copyright Mike Kraus
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He was a toddler when he arrived in America as refugee of the Irish Potato Famine.  Centuries of oppression left his family uneducated, poor, and starving in their own country.  Growing up in the tenements and prejudice of New York City left him wanting more as a young man.  And when he saw a flyer offering him work in Nebraska on the Transcontinental Railroad he took his opportunity.  After several years of living in tents and backbreaking work, he ended up in a southern Omaha tenement built on an "uninviting floodplain."  He still wanted more.  With hard work and shrewd dealing, he was able to obtain a farm.  Soon after, he was married and had several children that added to the success of that farm.  Looking back on his life, he saw himself as being fortunate to escape the peasant life of the privileged monarchy, the toil of being an immigrant, and to raise a family on his own land.  To show his gratitude, he joined with other nearby farmers in 1883 to construct this humble church.  Sacred ground to the American experience and a reminder of who we are as a nation.

More About Mike Kraus Art
My NPR Marketplace Business News interview about art as an alternative investment

Graphic Ear Interview on WAYO 104.3 FM

Michael Kraus was born on the industrial shoreline of Muskegon, Michigan. After earning his Fine Arts Degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he attended Grand Valley State University for his graduate degree. From there, he gained varied experiences from the Chicago Architecture Foundation, Art Institute of Chicago, Hauenstein Center For Presidential Studies, Lollypop Farm Humane Society, and the Children's Memorial Foundation. And every place he worked, he had his sketchbook with him and found ways to be actively creative. In 2014, Kraus became a full-time artist by establishing Mike Kraus Art. Since then, he has sold hundreds of paintings that are displayed in nearly every state and dozens of countries. Currently, Kraus lives in Rochester, New York with his beautiful wife and goofy dog.

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