Michael Godfrey, a representational painter of landscapes, was born in Heidelburg, Germany in 1958 and raised in North Carolina. He studied art at East Carolina University and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1982. Inspired by the many moods of light, his goal is to "capture and interpret these moods on Canvas".
His paintings focus on light filtering through the landscape. In his handling of color and surface Godfrey softens the edges implying detail rather than actively stating it, concentrating on the experience of the moment, reveling in the warm glow of sunlight on the landscape.
Winner of the Arts for the Parks Landscape Award in 1996, Godfrey appreciates the mystical wonders of nature and is much influenced by the Hudson River School of Painters.
He does field sketches and then completes the paintings in his studio and especially likes working outside early in the morning and in the evening. He has also taken over 15,000 photographs from which he works. Not surprisingly, he is an avid supporter of wildlife and land preservation.
Courtesy of Southwest Art
