👷‍♀️ Where the Real Work Gets Done 👷‍♀️

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

👷‍♀️ Chicago Alley 👷‍♀️
202508034

acrylic paint on canvas board

16" x 20" (40.6 cm x 50.8 cm) 

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

To purchase for your home, please visit: 

https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/243101275

The "L" train shrieks overhead as this alley hums quietly beneath it cluttered with voices, colors, and painted thick over bricks and concrete. There’s a raw electricity here, like the hum of power lines overhead or the rumble of a garbage truck making its last pass. You can almost smell the hot pavement and faded beer from a forgotten corner store, while a coyote seem to be having a whispered conversation about survival and freedom. This isn’t the part of the city shown in postcards, but it might be the part that tells the truth. 

What about your neighborhood—does it tell the truth, or just keep up appearances?

This piece would look best in a medium space that is red, orange, yellow, green, dark blue, purple, black, white, grey, or wood.

🍁 Calling All Art Lovers! 🍁

Get ready for the Awesome Autumn Art Festival—the coziest, craftiest, most joyfully creative online event of the season! Whether you're here to shop unique, sell your amazing work, or just soak in the good vibes, this is THE place to be. Think colorful finds, handmade magic, and a community that actually cares about art.

So grab your pumpkin spice and click that RSVP—because this fall, we’re making art the main event at:  👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1046518944308485

My Story
Hi, I’m Mike—the artist of Mike Kraus Art Inc.

I’ve been making art since I could hold a crayon. As a kid, I’d fill every notebook, homework margin, and scrap of paper with doodles. I sold my first artwork in junior high, sketching in class and handing off pieces between periods. That early love for making things never faded. I followed it all the way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually, I decided to stop treating art as a side hustle and make it my life’s work.

My paintings are full of energy, motion, and saturated color. I’m drawn to bold shapes and organic lines—forms that feel alive. I create with the hope that my work brings something beautiful and uplifting into someone’s day. Whether it’s a spark of joy, a moment of calm, or just a splash of color that makes you pause—I want my art to connect with something real.

Now, I’m lucky enough to paint full-time, with collectors across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world. But more than anything, I still feel like that kid with a crayon, excited to create. I’m grateful to share this journey with you—and I hope you find something in my work that makes your world a little brighter.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

✉📮 Living in a Postcard Moment 📮✉

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

🌳🌊 Bluff Point From the East Side of Keuka Lake 🌊🌳

Museum-quality posters made on thick matte paper

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

To purchase for your home or office, please visit: 

FRAMED: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4343978183

PRINT: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4343971204

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/4343980190

Sometimes, living in Upstate New York feels like stepping into a dream you didn’t know you missed; especially on days like this, hiking Keuka Lake. The air smells like maple and warm earth, the water sparkles like scattered glass, and every bend in the trail offers a little more peace. We found a sunny patch just off the path, sat down with snacks and silence, and let the lake do all the talking. If this isn’t nice, what is?

Where’s your go-to escape? The place that always brings you back to yourself?

Are you looking to grow your art collection without breaking the bank? Join us for the Artist Trading Card (& small art) Festival (Aug 4–6, 2025) — a vibrant virtual event where you can BUY, SELL, TRADE, and SHARE original mini masterpieces with artists from around the world. Handcrafted, affordable, and full of personality — it’s everything your collection didn’t know it needed. ✨ 👉 Are you ready to find your next tiny treasure?  RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/582766991295652

My Story

Hi, I’m Mike—the artist of Mike Kraus Art Inc.

I’ve been making art since I could hold a crayon. As a kid, I’d fill every notebook, homework margin, and scrap of paper with doodles. I sold my first artwork in junior high, sketching in class and handing off pieces between periods. That early love for making things never faded. I followed it all the way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually, I decided to stop treating art as a side hustle and make it my life’s work.

My paintings are full of energy, motion, and saturated color. I’m drawn to bold shapes and organic lines—forms that feel alive. I create with the hope that my work brings something beautiful and uplifting into someone’s day. Whether it’s a spark of joy, a moment of calm, or just a splash of color that makes you pause—I want my art to connect with something real.

Now, I’m lucky enough to paint full-time, with collectors across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world. But more than anything, I still feel like that kid with a crayon, excited to create. I’m grateful to share this journey with you—and I hope you find something in my work that makes your world a little brighter.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

🦅 Before the World Knew 🦅

 Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

🦅 Graffiti Pier In Philly #586 🦅

pen, ink, and colored pencil on Bristol paper

2.5" x 3.5" (6.35 cm x 8.89 cm) 

NOT A PRINT OR REPRODUCTION

202507033

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

For future works, please visit:

https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/610879524

🔥SOLD!🔥

This wild little cityscape—full of graffiti dreams, googly eyes, and cryptic words—was snatched up before it ever went public. How? Because my collectors get first dibs on new work before anyone else sees it. 

Every time someone buys a piece from me, they get a private peek behind the curtain at what’s coming next—exclusive previews, early access, and sometimes even secret releases. It’s my way of saying thanks and keeping the art magic flowing. Want in? All you have to do is collect.

And who knows? The next piece might already have your name on it...

Are you looking to grow your art collection without breaking the bank? Join us for the Artist Trading Card (& small art) Festival (Aug 4–6, 2025) — a vibrant virtual event where you can BUY, SELL, TRADE, and SHARE original mini masterpieces with artists from around the world. Handcrafted, affordable, and full of personality — it’s everything your collection didn’t know it needed. ✨ 👉 Are you ready to find your next tiny treasure?  RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/582766991295652

My Story

Hi, I’m Mike the artist of Mike Kraus Art Inc.

I’ve been making art since I could hold a crayon. As a kid, I’d fill every notebook, homework margin, and scrap of paper with doodles. I sold my first artwork in junior high, sketching in class and handing off pieces between periods. That early love for making things never faded. I followed it all the way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually, I decided to stop treating art as a side hustle and make it my life’s work.

My paintings are full of energy, motion, and saturated color. I’m drawn to bold shapes and organic lines—forms that feel alive. I create with the hope that my work brings something beautiful and uplifting into someone’s day. Whether it’s a spark of joy, a moment of calm, or just a splash of color that makes you pause—I want my art to connect with something real.

Now, I’m lucky enough to paint full-time, with collectors across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world. But more than anything, I still feel like that kid with a crayon, excited to create. I’m grateful to share this journey with you—and I hope you find something in my work that makes your world a little brighter.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

🌳 Have You Forgotten What Calm Looks Like? 🌳

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

🌳 Sunlight In the Forest 🌳

Museum-quality posters made on thick matte paper

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

To purchase for your home or office, please visit: 

FRAMED: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/1689861800

PRINT: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/1689859388

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/184310041

A quiet path curves beneath tall trees, where shadows soften and the air carries the hush of something ancient. Light filters through the leaves in loose fragments, brushing the earth in gold. This painting is a memory of that moment. The way sunlight feels when it finds you deep in the woods. The way the ground glows where it touches. Thick, textured strokes mirror the way the forest grows, not in lines but in layers.

When was the last time the light stopped you in your tracks?

Are you looking to grow your art collection without breaking the bank? Join us for the Artist Trading Card (& small art) Festival (Aug 4–6, 2025) — a vibrant virtual event where you can BUY, SELL, TRADE, and SHARE original mini masterpieces with artists from around the world. Handcrafted, affordable, and full of personality — it’s everything your collection didn’t know it needed. ✨ 👉 Are you ready to find your next tiny treasure?  RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/582766991295652

My Story

Hi, I’m Mike—the artist of Mike Kraus Art Inc.

I’ve been making art since I could hold a crayon. As a kid, I’d fill every notebook, homework margin, and scrap of paper with doodles. I sold my first artwork in junior high, sketching in class and handing off pieces between periods. That early love for making things never faded. I followed it all the way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually, I decided to stop treating art as a side hustle and make it my life’s work.

My paintings are full of energy, motion, and saturated color. I’m drawn to bold shapes and organic lines—forms that feel alive. I create with the hope that my work brings something beautiful and uplifting into someone’s day. Whether it’s a spark of joy, a moment of calm, or just a splash of color that makes you pause—I want my art to connect with something real.

Now, I’m lucky enough to paint full-time, with collectors across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world. But more than anything, I still feel like that kid with a crayon, excited to create. I’m grateful to share this journey with you—and I hope you find something in my work that makes your world a little brighter.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

🔥👀 The Sky Was on Fire and I Didn’t Want to Blink 👀🔥

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

🌴 Sunset Over Puerto Vallarta, Mexico #585 🌴

pen, ink, and colored pencil on Bristol paper

2.5" x 3.5" (6.35 cm x 8.89 cm) 

NOT A PRINT OR REPRODUCTION

202507032

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

To purchase for your collection, please visit: 

https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/560340679

I still remember standing on the beach in Puerto Vallarta, toes buried in the warm sand, watching the sky slowly turn into this glowing blend of coral, gold, and deep flame. The palm trees stood perfectly still, like they were holding their breath with the rest of us, waiting for the sun to slip below the edge. It felt like one of those rare moments when time presses pause and lets you just take it all in.

Have you ever caught a sunset so vivid that it made you want to stay right where you were, just a little longer?

Are you looking to grow your art collection without breaking the bank? Join us for the Artist Trading Card (& small art) Festival (Aug 4–6, 2025) — a vibrant virtual event where you can BUY, SELL, TRADE, and SHARE original mini masterpieces with artists from around the world. Handcrafted, affordable, and full of personality — it’s everything your collection didn’t know it needed. ✨ 👉 Are you ready to find your next tiny treasure?  RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/582766991295652

My Story

Hi, I’m Mike the artist of Mike Kraus Art Inc.

I’ve been making art since I could hold a crayon. As a kid, I’d fill every notebook, homework margin, and scrap of paper with doodles. I sold my first artwork in junior high, sketching in class and handing off pieces between periods. That early love for making things never faded. I followed it all the way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually, I decided to stop treating art as a side hustle and make it my life’s work.

My paintings are full of energy, motion, and saturated color. I’m drawn to bold shapes and organic lines—forms that feel alive. I create with the hope that my work brings something beautiful and uplifting into someone’s day. Whether it’s a spark of joy, a moment of calm, or just a splash of color that makes you pause—I want my art to connect with something real.

Now, I’m lucky enough to paint full-time, with collectors across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world. But more than anything, I still feel like that kid with a crayon, excited to create. I’m grateful to share this journey with you—and I hope you find something in my work that makes your world a little brighter.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

🌊 Wish I Could Stay a Little Longer 🌊

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

🌊😎 Beach In Cannes, France 😎🌊

acrylic paint on canvas board

8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)

202506029

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

To purchase for your home, please visit: 

https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/185873699

We wandered along the curve of the beach in Cannes, letting the salt air cling to our skin and the hush of the Mediterranean guide our steps. The golden sand warmed our feet, and the waves traced the shoreline like they were sculpting it anew with every breath. To our right, elegant trees cast soft shade over the promenade, and just beyond them, the grand old buildings of the city stood watching; quiet, regal, sunlit. Far ahead, the hills rose gently, cradling Cannes in their arms, while behind us the world slipped away without a sound. We didn’t talk much; we didn’t need to. The rhythm of the sea said more than we could. For a moment, it felt like we belonged to the coast itself; not as visitors, but as part of its slow, golden heartbeat.

If you could pause time anywhere, would it be by the sea?

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

Are you looking to grow your art collection without breaking the bank? Join us for the Artist Trading Card (& small art) Festival (Aug 4–6, 2025) — a vibrant virtual event where you can BUY, SELL, TRADE, and SHARE original mini masterpieces with artists from around the world. Handcrafted, affordable, and full of personality — it’s everything your collection didn’t know it needed. ✨ 👉 Are you ready to find your next tiny treasure?  RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/582766991295652

My Story

Hi, I’m Mike the artist of Mike Kraus Art Inc.

I’ve been making art since I could hold a crayon. As a kid, I’d fill every notebook, homework margin, and scrap of paper with doodles. I sold my first artwork in junior high, sketching in class and handing off pieces between periods. That early love for making things never faded. I followed it all the way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually, I decided to stop treating art as a side hustle and make it my life’s work.

My paintings are full of energy, motion, and saturated color. I’m drawn to bold shapes and organic lines—forms that feel alive. I create with the hope that my work brings something beautiful and uplifting into someone’s day. Whether it’s a spark of joy, a moment of calm, or just a splash of color that makes you pause—I want my art to connect with something real.

Now, I’m lucky enough to paint full-time, with collectors across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world. But more than anything, I still feel like that kid with a crayon, excited to create. I’m grateful to share this journey with you—and I hope you find something in my work that makes your world a little brighter.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social

🌅 Hudson River Gentle Unfolding 🌅

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty

🌳 Hudson River From Storm King Mountain #584 🌳

pen, ink, and colored pencil on Bristol paper

2.5" x 3.5" (6.35 cm x 8.89 cm) 

NOT A PRINT OR REPRODUCTION

202507031

© copyright Mike Kraus Art Inc.

To purchase for your collection, please visit: https://mikekrausart.etsy.com/listing/254233439

The first time I hiked up Storm King Mountain, the sky looked like it had been brushed with gold, and the Hudson shimmered below like a quiet ribbon of light. I remember sitting on the warm rock, legs tired and heart full, watching the layers of green fade into soft blue ridges, each one more hushed than the last. The air smelled like hayfields and maple, and for a minute, the world felt perfectly still. 

Do you have a place that always makes you pause and breathe a little deeper?

Are you looking to grow your art collection without breaking the bank? Join us for the Artist Trading Card (& small art) Festival (Aug 4–6, 2025) — a vibrant virtual event where you can BUY, SELL, TRADE, and SHARE original mini masterpieces with artists from around the world. Handcrafted, affordable, and full of personality — it’s everything your collection didn’t know it needed. ✨ 👉 Are you ready to find your next tiny treasure?  RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/582766991295652

My Story

Hi, I’m Mike the artist of Mike Kraus Art Inc.

I’ve been making art since I could hold a crayon. As a kid, I’d fill every notebook, homework margin, and scrap of paper with doodles. I sold my first artwork in junior high, sketching in class and handing off pieces between periods. That early love for making things never faded. I followed it all the way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually, I decided to stop treating art as a side hustle and make it my life’s work.

My paintings are full of energy, motion, and saturated color. I’m drawn to bold shapes and organic lines—forms that feel alive. I create with the hope that my work brings something beautiful and uplifting into someone’s day. Whether it’s a spark of joy, a moment of calm, or just a splash of color that makes you pause—I want my art to connect with something real.

Now, I’m lucky enough to paint full-time, with collectors across the U.S. and in dozens of countries around the world. But more than anything, I still feel like that kid with a crayon, excited to create. I’m grateful to share this journey with you—and I hope you find something in my work that makes your world a little brighter.

For more information or custom order, please visit:

Store: http://MikeKrausArt.etsy.com

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/TheWayToBeauty

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MikeKraus/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraus

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mikekraus.bsky.social