Monday, December 23, 2019

On a Chicago Street Corner

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


On a Chicago Street Corner
acrylic paint on canvas board
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) 
201912123
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/555220975/on-a-chicago-street-corner-original

In the ROCHESTER, NEW YORK area and still looking for last minute gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa?  Contact me and we'll find a way to give art to your loved ones.

Pierre left his family's struggling farm to find work in nearby St Romuald, Quebec as a carpenter's apprentice.  There were many nights his young wife and seven children went to bed hungry.  And when Pierre's wife and son died in 1882, it was too much for him to endure.  He quickly sold off his meager possessions, remarried, and boarded various trains until he reached Muskegon, Michigan to work in a myriad of factories.  After several years and eight more children, he had an opportunity to work as a carpenter constructing the interiors of trains.  For the next 17 years, that's what he did in Jacksonville, Illinois.  His expertise made him highly desirable to the Pullman Railcar Company in Chicago.  When Pierre and his wife Melvina moved into their humble apartment, it was the first time they've had an empty nest in their 32 years of marriage.  These were some of their happiest years.  Melvina enjoyed her new friends and all the amenities South Chicago had to offer.  Pierre had success as a crew boss at an iconic American business.  My great-great grandparents didn't know what to expect when they emigrated to the United States.  But they were grateful for the opportunity it provided them and their children.  And they worked hard every day to show it.    


Mike 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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