Michael David Sorensen vibrantly paints the beloved Northwest scenery with personality that is better captured by the imagination than by a camera. From his unexpected color choices, that express mood more than reality, to his blending of both looseness and detail, Michael creates images that relate with people's memories of their favorite places.
Exhibition Record
February 2003 to present - Heritage Gallery, Vancouver, Washington
September 2003 to 2006 - Old Town Framing Company, Astoria, Oregon
October 2003 to present - Haystack Gallery, Cannon Beach, Oregon
February 2004 to present - Columbia River Gallery, Troutdale, Oregon
April 2004 to 2007 - The Preuit Collection, Gig Harbor, Washington
May 2004 to 2008 - Dancing Coyote Gallery, Depoe Bay, Oregon
October 2004 to 2005 - Soda Creek Gallery, Sisters, Oregon
2007-2009 - Champagne Cove Gallery, La Conner, Washington
Awards
2005 - Best Watercolor and People's Choice Award at the 2005 Paint the Gorge Plein Aire Show
2004 - People's Choice award at the Southwest Washington Watercolor Society's fall show
2003 - Best of Show at the Southwest Washington Watercolor Society People's Choice Show
2002 - People's Choice award at the Southwest Washington Watercolor Society's fall show
2001 - First and second place in the Professional watercolor art in the Clark County fair
2000-2001 school year - Full McCordic Scholarship for art at Clark College
1999-2000 school year - Partial McCordic Scholarship for art at Clark College
1999 - First place in the semi-professional watercolor art and the Best of Show award
1995, 1997, and 1998 - First place in amateur watercolor art in the Clark County fair
This is my story and I'm sticking to it. . .
When I was quite young my mom started letting me bring a sketch pad to church to keep my occupied so I wouldn't fidget during the sermons. My dad had also made a living as a glass artist for many years which increased my interest in art. I became fascinated with the clever Disney art in their movies The Sword and the Stone, Beauty and the Beast and my favorite cartoon Darkwing Duck. I began, while in church, to practice honing my skills at drawing Disney cartoons, among other things like fighter jets and my own style of cartoons.
At some point between the time when I was a kid and when I was a teenager young ladies started noticing my sketches and doodles and would ask me to drawn them their favorite cartoon character or something girly like a flower or a dolphin. Although I would have much preferred to draw an F-16 to a rose, I came to the most important realization that any young artist can come to: babes dig dudes that can draw.
In the time that followed, my early collectors, the girls at church or the private school I attended in 6th and 7th grade, continued to ask for original artwork. Naturally I attempted to fit drawing Darkwing Duck and F-15s into school hours. I tried to hide my Gismo Duck doodles and my latest flower drawing commissions for girls whenever a teacher walked by, but was often caught and scolded. On occasion, however, a teacher would walk by at 10:30 in the morning, notice me drawing instead of doing social studies and say something like 'hey that's nice', without giving me the usual 'stop doodling and get back to work' spiel. This only encouraged me of course.
At some point my dad and grandparents noticed all of my drawing practice and wanted me to start learning to do something useful with my art. For Christmas 1993 when I was 12, my dad and grandparents got me watercolor paints, brushes and paper. My dad figured that the best way to get me to learn how to paint would be to give me a deadline and a reason to paint. He decided to have me start painting pictures that we would frame and give to my grandparents as Christmas presents.
About December 1 of 1994 my dad told me that I needed to have my first painting framed, wrapped and under the tree for my Grandparents by Christmas Eve. Neither of us really knew how to watercolor paint. I had slopped some paint on a few pieces of paper during the last year and my dad had done some oil and acrylic painting, but didn't have experience with watercolor. This first painting was more of less a corroboration where we tried to learn how to paint something worth framing and being proud of in a couple weeks time. That month of December was filled with my dad giving directions like 'you should put some blue there' and 'you should make that darker' while I blobbed paint around. We managed to get this first painting done and framed by the very last minute Christmas Eve.
I continued to paint my grandparents Christmas presents throughout most of my teenage life. My love for painting only grew from there.