Showing posts with label job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Five Year Anniversary!

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

Five years ago, I followed my dreams and became a full-time artist.  I couldn't be more amazed by all the support I've received, humbled by the hundreds of my pieces that are on walls all over the world, and excited for all that is to come.  This has been an incredible journey.  An adventure that you made possible.  Thank you and I can't wait to see what the next five years bring. 


Your Friend,

Michael Kraus



PS - Here are some photos from our vacation to Palma de Mallorca looking for inspiration




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:

Monday, April 7, 2014

Just Another Day At the Office

 Just another day at the office.  Scout and I made our commute from the bedroom to the living room.  Light traffic for a Monday.  I'm fortunate to have a window in my office.  It keeps the creative juices flowing.

Time to get to work.  Put on my reading glasses and work on the "to-do" list.  Lots of paper work.  Things to file.  Getting final approvals. 

 Senior Management Meeting.  Scout's the leader of the operation.  Beaker's the brains.  I'm tasked with "gettin' stuff done."

 Coffee Break.  This is where the real business gets done.  The place where the important meetings take place.  It's all about relationships.  And, knowing what you have to do to get rewards.

Five o'clock.  We've earned time to put on our slippers, sit back, and have a nice cold drink.  To enjoy the good life.  Work hard, play hard.    Most importantly, don't take stuff so seriously and remember to have fun.

Also, if you're on Etsy, please visit my new shop at:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MikeKrausArt

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO!!!

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HERE'S SUNSHINE!  She's being fostered by one of my co-workers, who will likely adopt her.  As you can tell, she's a very nice little dog that will let you do anything you want to her.  Most sedated dog ever.


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Reno with some rescued puppies.  Not sure what their story is.  Apparently they came from South Carolina.  


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One of the puppies is blind.  Probably the one walking into the desk.  A few moments after this was taken they decided to sit in their food.


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LLAMA!!!


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And look at this guy!


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Just a couple of rabbits hanging out in their new pen


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This one is up to no good.


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We had a "grazing day" at work.  Spring themed of course.  This was the aftermath.  


Interesting fact: Did you know I get paid to be here?  And you can too!  If you want to share an office with me, visit:


http://lollypop.org/orgMain.asp?ssid&storyID=614&orgID=101&sid


Also, "Farm Day" is on April 30th at Lollypop Farm.  So, come if you want to watch me face paint.  For more info on that, go to:


http://www.lollypop.org/orgmain.asp?orgID=10&storyID=211


Now for a couple of random pics...


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So, Megan and I are house-hunting.  We've seen some interesting places...  Here's a pencil drawing which would not be removed if we bought this one (which we will not).  


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After a couple of months, I traded in my Nissan Versa for this truck.  I had to.  Look at the x-mas tree painted on the door!


That's it for now.  I would have had pictures from our visit to the Eastman Theater and dinner at Veneto Pizza, but I forgot.  I'm way out of practice.  I'm embarrassed.  Anyway, a busy week this week with offsite meetings, onsite meeting, conferences, Easter, and capped off with Farm Day.  Sooooo....

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

CONGRATS TO ME!!! (A shameless self-congratulations)

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CONGRATULATIONS MIKE!!!
I am the new Annual Giving Manager of Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester (www.Lollypop.org).  It's a great organization that's been helping all kinds of creatures since 1873.  At their wonderful facility, they provide tons of programs and services for dogs, cats, horses, sheep, goats, rabbits, fish, turtles and their owners.  It's a great opportunity for me personally and I'm super excited to be a part of the team.  I have lots of people to thank.  Especially Megan, Jerry, Jennie, Mary, and so many more!


To make a donation to Lollypop Farm, please go to:
How you can help


Enough patting myself on the back.  But, I figure if Hollywood can do it several times a year, I can do it once every five years or so.  ONWARD TO THE REST OF THE BLOG!!!


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While I went to volunteer training at Lollypop, Megan went to Bristol Mountain to teach Tachel how to ski.  Here she is with her dad.


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She can even pose for pictures on skis.  


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Dad towing Tachel down the mountain.  


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Megan had a gala for work for Wilson Commencement Park (http://www.wilsoncommencementpark.org/), an inspiring organization helping Rochester families become self-sufficient, held at ArtisanWorks (http://www.artisanworks.net/).  This place is a 40,000 square foot warehouse packed with all kinds of great things.  It's like a much, much, larger version of my childhood bedroom.  


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There was so much to look at that I felt like I saw nothing.  I kept finding paintings, sculptures, photos, etc. in areas I frequently walked in.


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The Frank Lloyd Wright room.  Not sure if this is a replica an artist made or if this is a salvage from a house that was torn down.  I'll have to check with Katherine, an FLW preservation expert, for more information.


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up the narrow staircase


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A view of the dining room


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Our only purchase is this GIANT eagle.  Really look at the scale of this thing.  The painting in the bottom right corner is huge.  The pedestal it is sitting on is a full bar.  It will look beautiful in our apartment livingroom...


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Lots of taxidermy.  This is an alligator eating a zebra, of course!


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Lots of people with lots of art!  Plus, good food.  We met a great couple at dinner.  They were pretty fun and interesting.  Hopefully we'll bump into them again at another event.


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a painting of Megan with a monkey on her head


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Atlas, (http://www.atlasband.com/) rocked the house!


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Highlight of the night was our conversation with R. Carlos Carballada, acting mayor for the City of Rochester and neighborhood and business development commissioner (for those not in Rochester, our mayor left for state government and there's been lots of issues in replacing him and multiple mayors and all).  Really nice guy.  Congratulated Megan on her work, gave me some career advice, thanked us for moving to Rochester.  


Well, that's it for now.  But, lots of stuff on my plate these days.  I've got a play tonight, volunteering and school committee meeting tomorrow, Amerks hockey game on Friday, car shopping this weekend, Valentine's Day and probably a lot more I've left out.  

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

So Much Snow. So Very Much Snow...

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Last I saw, we've received 41.7 inches of snow so far in 2010 in Rochester.  That's just 10 inches away from the record snowfall in December with expectations near 60 inches total for the month.  As for the "Golden Snowball Trophy" Syracuse is in the lead with 55 inches.  "What is this trophy?" you ask.  Well, it's a nature driven competition between Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton, and Albany to see who gets the most snow.  Go to http://www.goldensnowball.blogspot.com/ for more information/


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Oh bike.  How I won't see you until June.


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It's been a long time since I've lived in a snowy climate.  Chicago gets snow, but not like Rochester or Muskegon.  What makes winter awful there is the bone chilling wind off the plains or Lake Michigan and the complete lack of wintertime activities because they have flat land as far as you can drive.  Maybe my wife will get me a sled for christmas...


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So, I had 4 job interviews in a week.  All seemed to go well and were interesting in their own ways.  Certainly won't hear anything about them until after the holidays and the 2010 budgets are done.  Megan is out shopping tonight for gifts.  She'll be done by Modern Family is on.  Buffalo this weekend for dinner and It's A Wonderful Life on the big screen.  


I'm off to draw some pictures or something...

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

CONGRATS TO MEGAN!!!

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CONGRATS!!!
I promise this will be the last congrats to Megan on her job situation.  Promise...  She was the interim executive director of the Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Foundation (Xerox Family).  Then, was offered the Event Coordinator position at another great organization on a permanent basis.  Well, she did such a great job at the Wilson Foundation that they decided to not let her go.  She'll be the permanent Executive Director from now on.  So, everyone send Megan your best wishes as this is an opportunity of a lifetime.  I'm proud of you!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

"Your Golden Opportunity!" (In the Key of Kenny Loggins)

A big congratulations goes out to Megan this week since she has a NEW JOB!  "Didn't she just get a new job?" you say.  The answer is "yes, and she seems to collect jobs like candles," but that was a great temporary opportunity that ends in December.  She'll start at Hillside Family of Agencies right after as an Event Coordinator (or something like that).  Give her the ol' congrats when you get a chance!!!  (PS - I'm still looking for a position and my resume is at www.mikekrausresume.blogspot.com or  to the left of this, just saying...)


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Proof again that there is no problem that can't be created that doesn't have an affordable solution.  I like that they are trying to make eggs in the shape of bread, but I find in interesting that they suggest this for use on pancakes too.  Maybe this is a suggestion for IHOP to make a pancake version of the KFC Double Down?


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Before - During - After
Erin needed her bathroom painted and I needed something to keep me busy.  Seems like a match made in heaven, right?


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Before - During - After


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Before - During - After


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Before - During - After
Not bad.  Last I saw, there were a few touch ups that needed to be done with a smaller paintbrush.  Some cleanup of paint and putty here and there.  Stuff I'll have to look at next time I stop by.


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Some people get paid in peanuts, I elect for doughnuts.  Donuts Delite to be precise.  They are delicious and, I'm just guessing, not health food.  We've been hearing "you have to go to Donuts Delite" ever since we moved to Rochester.  After eating their food and seeing their website, I might have to make a pit stop in the near future.


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MEOWZR!!!  It seems we might have a crazy cat person as a neighbor.  Megan decided that she will use it as her exclamation from now on.


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The Morton Rundel Memorial Library in downtown Rochester.  Morton Rundel was a local art dealer who made money by investing in his cousin's company, the Eastman Kodak Company.    When he died in 1911, he gave $400,000 to the city for the construction of this library and art gallery.  But, the city took so long to start construction that the family sued (further delaying construction) and it wasn't started until 1934.  By then, the Memorial Art Gallery was built and another art gallery was unnecessary.  So, it's all library except a one room art gallery now.  The building's on an old millrace along the Genesee River that was later used and abandoned as a subway.  It is connected by underground tunnel to the modern Bausch and Lomb Public Library across the street.


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Inside the Rundel Library.  I spent a few hours here last week just seeing what they had.  Their local history room on the 2nd floor is pretty impressive.  Lots of local, family, state histories.  Big old maps of the city.  City master plans from every decade that seem to be implemented a small bit or ignored completely.  Microfiche!  


The Detroit Lions (2-6) vs. the Buffalo Bills (0-8) in Loser Bowl 2010 this weekend.  Megan and I will be there.  Megan thinks there should be a Super Bowl of losers every year to determine the worst team in football.  This is about as close as it's going to get to reality.  I can only dream that this game ends in a tie (a likely dream with Stafford out for the season... again...)...

Sunday, August 29, 2010

The New Barbarian Rochestarian

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After nine years in Chicago, Megan and I decided it was time for a change of scenery. We resigned from our jobs, which will take effect September 17th and will be moving to Rochester, New York soon after. I want to thank all the people over the years who have been so good to me-from the Art Institute, Chicago Architecture Foundation, and Children's Memorial Foundation. There are also a bunch of random friends that I've made randomly that we will miss. As usual, I will keep everyone updated on here as we learn what we are doing ourselves.

Thanks again Chicago! We will miss you!






Wednesday, January 28, 2009

We're Going To Need A Few Drinks If We Actually Do This...


Megan's work, AIAChicago, decided to throw us a Martini Engagement Party last Friday after work. It was very nice of them to do that for us and a lot of fun. Pictured above is my Orange Bitter Martini with Gin. It was damn good.


Here's Steve. He's an interesting guy. Every time I talk with him, some fascinating story or event happens. This Martini event is one of them. I had no idea he was such a Martini artist. He had this whole thing planned out with chilled glasses, ingredients, and crafted each drink to perfection by rubbing various fruit and stuff. It was amazing just to watch.


Here's Megan cutting up some Mango for a few drinks.


Here's the team at work


Here's Steve explaining the fine balance of making a Martini, "Well, it's a lot of alcohol with a small splash of juice." And that is why Megan and I ended up at Gino's East and ate a whole pizza afterwards...

PS - Has anyone else been watching the "THIS" Movie Channel? It's like HBO that you get with an antennae, but only shows really terrible B movies. And, if you know me, I love B movies. They had Charles Blakely's Monster, Species III, and millions of others I've never heard of before. It's pretty awesome. I highly suggest it...

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