Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Friday, March 5, 2021

Chicago Street

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


Chicago Street
acrylic paint on canvas board
5" x 7" (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm)
202103015
© copyright Mike Kraus
It's so cold outside that the door handle has frost on the inside of the apartment.  I eat my toast as I put on my layers of clothing: thick socks, long johns, undershirt, and ski goggles so my eyes don't freeze waiting for the train.  I top off my thermos of coffee and grab a few office papers.  I prepare myself for the wind chill as I put on my hat coat and boots.  As, I open the door, I know it's going to be a great day as the landlord already cleared the sidewalk. 


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.

For more information or custom order, please visit:
at No comments:

Friday, February 19, 2021

Los Angeles Alley

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


Los Angeles Alley
acrylic paint on canvas board
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
202102011
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/246241892/los-angeles-alley-original-acrylic

Los Angeles is an attractive beacon of optimism.  What started as a Spanish colony of 11 people has exploded into a population of 18.7 million people.  The Chinese came to build the railroads, African Americans seeking better opportunities after World War II, Koreans to be entrepreneurial shopkeepers, Latinos who founded and built the city, along with countless other people from around the globe.  Los Angeles' diversity and openness to the world has made it the 3rd largest metropolitan economy.  Behind the thin veneer of glamour is the hard work of millions of good people.

This painting would look best in a space that is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, gray, beige. or wood


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.

For more information or custom order, please visit:
at No comments:

Friday, September 11, 2020

Los Angeles Alley

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


Los Angeles Alley
acrylic paint on canvas board
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
202009079
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/246241892/los-angeles-alley-original-acrylic

*NOTICE - SHIPPING DELAYS HARMING SMALL BUSINESSES MAY BE EXPERIENCED: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/16/usps-mail-delays-postmaster-general-changes-workers

Los Angeles is an attractive beacon of optimism.  What started as a Spanish colony of 11 people has exploded into a population of 18.7 million people.  The Chinese came to build the railroads, African Americans seeking better opportunities after World War II, Koreans to be entrepreneurial shopkeepers, Latinos who founded and built the city, along with countless other people from around the globe.  Los Angeles' diversity and openness to the world has made it the 3rd largest metropolitan economy.  Behind the thin veneer of glamour is the hard work of millions of good people.

This painting would look best in a space that is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, gray, beige. or wood

Having Fun During Coronavirus

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.

For more information or custom order, please visit:
at 1 comment:

Friday, June 19, 2020

Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


BLACK LIVES MATTER
https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
acrylic paint on canvas board
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
202006046
© copyright Mike Kraus
Tips For Working At Home
Communication:
Be You!: 

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.

For more information or custom order, please visit:
at No comments:

Friday, May 8, 2020

Los Angeles Alley

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


Los Angeles Alley
acrylic on canvas
18" x 24" (45.7 cm x 60.9 cm)
202005031
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/203969625/los-angeles-alley-original-acrylic

Los Angeles is an attractive beacon of optimism.  What started as a Spanish colony of 11 people has exploded into a population of 18.7 million people.  The Chinese came to build the railroads, African Americans seeking better opportunities after World War II, Koreans to be entrepreneurial shopkeepers, Latinos who founded and built the city, along with countless other people from around the globe.  Los Angeles' diversity and openness to the world has made it the 3rd largest metropolitan economy.  Behind the thin veneer of glamour is the hard work of millions of good people.

This painting would look best in a medium-to-large space that is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, gray, beige. or wood

Tips For Working At Home

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.

For more information or custom order, please visit:
at No comments:

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

The Burrito

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

The Burrito #348
gouache paint on Bristol paper
2.5" x 3.5" (6.35 cm x 8.89 cm) 
NOT A PRINT OR REPRODUCTION
202001001
© copyright Mike Kraus

Around 10,000 B.C., a corn tortilla food wrap became a common dinner in Mesoamerica.  For thousands of years and countless generations, the recipe was passed on and evolved.  The Pueblo Native American of southwestern United States and northern Mexico ate it as a staple meal.  Cowboys roaming California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, and Guanajuato found it to be an easy meal to eat while rounding up cattle.  There's a couple legends where the name "burrito" came from.  One says it's because a street vendor in Ciudad Juárez named Juan Méndez sold the meal while riding a donkey.  Another claims it came from a term of endearment used by a man selling lunches to poor school children.  Today, the burrito is served in an infinite amount of restaurants in a myriad of varieties.  Yet another example of how food shows we have more in common than we have in differences. 

Alrededor de 10.000 aC, una envoltura de tortilla de maíz se convirtió en una cena común en Mesoamérica. Durante miles de años e innumerables generaciones, la receta se transmitió y evolucionó. El pueblo nativo americano del suroeste de los Estados Unidos y el norte de México lo comió como una comida básica. Los vaqueros que vagaban por California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Nuevo México, Colorado, Texas y Guanajuato consideraron que era una comida fácil de comer mientras redondeaban el ganado. Hay un par de leyendas de donde vino el nombre "burrito". Uno dice que es porque un vendedor ambulante en Ciudad Juárez llamado Juan Méndez vendió la comida mientras montaba un burro. Otro afirma que proviene de un término de cariño usado por un hombre que vende almuerzos a niños de escuelas pobres. Hoy en día, el burrito se sirve en una cantidad infinita de restaurantes en una gran variedad de variedades. Otro ejemplo más de cómo la comida muestra que tenemos más en común que diferencias.



Whitman Works
gallery is closing...

But, you won't find better deals on original. Get 25% OFF everything in the gallery. Also, January 18th is a special open house sale with more in-house incentives and giveaways. Come and join us as we celebrate 3+ years of working with area artists.

More information at:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2936079256454188/



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.

at No comments:

Monday, July 29, 2019

On a Chicago Street Corner

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


On a Chicago Street Corner
acrylic paint on canvas board
5" x 7" (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm)
201907065
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/614691323/on-a-chicago-street-corner-original

On this plots of land, the long grass of the Illinois prairie gave way to squalid tenements of Irish immigrants in the 1840s.  They escaped famine and oppression in their homeland to find abuse, poverty, and the backbreaking labor of digging canals, building roads, and constructing the railroads.  The neighborhood had frequent Cholera outbreaks because of the constant flooding.

Seeking religious and political freedoms from the Austrians, Czech immigrants moved to this muddy Chicago neighborhood.  They opened a restaurant called "At the City of Plzeň", which inspired the Pilsen neighborhood's name.  When banks refused to loan them money to build homes, they formed their own credit unions to finance the neo-Bohemian Baroque architecture that is treasured today.

In the 1950, the construction of the Stevenson Expressway forced Mexican immigrants from their homes to the Hull House Neighborhood.  Soon after, they were forced from their homes again to make room for the University of Illinois Chicago campus.  When the Latino community began to appear in Pilsen, they fought discrimination to have a place to live, to be members of churches, to open shops, and to have their children receive decent educations.  So, when another Urban Renewal plan for Pilsen was discovered, they fought back to save the neighborhood they worked so hard to create.

These streets bear the scars of injustice and the hope for opportunity for all.  Overcoming our prejudice to the cause of freedom is what gives us hope in America.        



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.


Jakelin was a 7-year-old fleeing gang infested Guatemala.  
Felipe Gómez Alonzo died of an infection and the flu at 8-years-old
Juan de León Gutiérrez was 16-years-old when he died from an infection.
A 2-year-old died of pneumonia.

These are just a few of the 15,000 children imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other United States Government Agencies and their for-profit contractors.  They are being kept in concrete cells, deprived of basic necessities, and starving from hunger.  The filth they are forced to live in has led to flu, lice, and respiratory outbreaks, that are purposefully being neglected.  And guards punish these children for minor offences by taking away their blankets, mats, and forcing them to sleep directly on the concrete floor (Southern Poverty Law Center)


I am extremely disturbed that a country that has shown me and my family such kindness is so cruel to others. This is not about politics. This is about justice, kindness, and truth. These children and parents are fleeing Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala because government-supported gangs are violently attacking them (United Nations). After a dangerous journey, we deny them their rights to asylum (Amnesty International), we kidnap and lose their children (American Civil Liberties Union), cage and sexually assault kids (New York Times), and deny them due process and indefinite imprisonment at detention/internment/concentration camps (Los Angeles Times).  We're allowing them to die in these terrible conditions (NBC News).  And we arrest and try to imprison good, Christians who provide food and water to those in need (The Guardian).

I don't care about politics and find involvement in them to be humiliating.  I do care about honesty, fairness, and respect.  I ask that you remember your family roots, that you search your heart, and confront cruelty in all its forms.

For ways to help, please visit:


at No comments:

Monday, June 10, 2019

The Burrito

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


The Burrito
acrylic paint on canvas board
201906052 5" x 7" (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm)
© copyright Mike Kraus

Around 10,000 B.C., a corn tortilla food wrap became a common dinner in Mesoamerica.  For thousands of years and countless generations, the recipe was passed on and evolved.  The Pueblo Native American of southwestern United States and northern Mexico ate it as a staple meal.  Cowboys roaming California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, and Guanajuato found it to be an easy meal to eat while rounding up cattle.  There's a couple legends where the name "burrito" came from.  One says it's because a street vendor in Ciudad Juárez named Juan Méndez sold the meal while riding a donkey.  Another claims it came from a term of endearment used by a man selling lunches to poor school children.  Today, the burrito is served in an infinite amount of restaurants in a myriad of varieties.  Yet another example of how food shows we have more in common than we have in differences. 

Alrededor de 10.000 aC, una envoltura de tortilla de maíz se convirtió en una cena común en Mesoamérica. Durante miles de años e innumerables generaciones, la receta se transmitió y evolucionó. El pueblo nativo americano del suroeste de los Estados Unidos y el norte de México lo comió como una comida básica. Los vaqueros que vagaban por California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Nuevo México, Colorado, Texas y Guanajuato consideraron que era una comida fácil de comer mientras redondeaban el ganado. Hay un par de leyendas de donde vino el nombre "burrito". Uno dice que es porque un vendedor ambulante en Ciudad Juárez llamado Juan Méndez vendió la comida mientras montaba un burro. Otro afirma que proviene de un término de cariño usado por un hombre que vende almuerzos a niños de escuelas pobres. Hoy en día, el burrito se sirve en una cantidad infinita de restaurantes en una gran variedad de variedades. Otro ejemplo más de cómo la comida muestra que tenemos más en común que diferencias.

This piece would work best is a small-to-medium space that is red, orange, green, blue, purple, black, white, grey, or light wood.   
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.

at No comments:

Monday, April 22, 2019

Los Angeles Alley

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


Los Angeles Alley
acrylic on canvas board
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
201904037
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/700607221/los-angeles-alley-original-acrylic

Los Angeles is an attractive beacon of optimism.  What started as a Spanish colony of 11 people has exploded into a population of 18.7 million people.  The Chinese came to build the railroads, African Americans seeking better opportunities after World War II, Koreans to be entrepreneurial shopkeepers, Latinos who founded and built the city, along with countless other people from around the globe.  Los Angeles' diversity and openness to the world has made it the 3rd largest metropolitan economy.  Behind the thin veneer of glamour is the hard work of millions of good people.

This painting would look best in a space that is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, dark purple, black, white, gray, beige. or wood

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.



For more information or custom order, please visit:
at No comments:

Friday, April 12, 2019

Los Angeles Alley

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty


Los Angeles Alley
acrylic on canvas board
8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)
201904034
© copyright Mike Kraus
To purchase, please visit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/246241892/los-angeles-alley-original-acrylic

Los Angeles is an attractive beacon of optimism.  What started as a Spanish colony of 11 people has exploded into a population of 18.7 million people.  The Chinese came to build the railroads, African Americans seeking better opportunities after World War II, Koreans to be entrepreneurial shopkeepers, Latinos who founded and built the city, along with countless other people from around the globe.  Los Angeles' diversity and openness to the world has made it the 3rd largest metropolitan economy.  Behind the thin veneer of glamour is the hard work of millions of good people.

This painting would look best in a space that is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, dark purple, black, white, gray, beige. or wood

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.

For more information or custom order, please visit:
at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

If you like this, you might like...

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...