Micah Crandall-Bear

Micah Crandall-Bear’s abstract landscape paintings are telluric images that capture the delicate balance between man and nature. His concept is infused with landscape details that hint at daily and seasonal shifts in light, evoking a sense of evolution and balance. Compositions often contain environmental elements that reference Earth’s intrinsic resources and our disposition toward their accelerated transformation. In an ever-increasing technological world, his work reminds us to pause and admire our wild and natural surroundings. He presents abstractions that inspire a deep and effusive connection to nature.

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Crandall-Bear achieves longitudinal depth through a conversation between exacting precisely rendered lines and seamless expanses of color. This explicitly composed depth communicates a sense of contingency and locality. Micah’s construction of space is enhanced by his painting method. His ‘wet-on-wet’ method is a contemporary application of ‘alla prima,’ a traditional technique used mostly in oil painting, where layers of wet paint are applied to previous layers of wet paint. Due to the fast drying nature of acrylic paint, it is essential that he works quickly. He sprays the canvas with water between each layer of paint to keep the previous from drying.

No matter how precise or general the area, Micah’s layered brushstrokes are decisive, but also gestural, often spanning the entire surface of the canvas from left to right. This highly active method of painting is sometimes tempered through rapid buffing and blending. The outcome is a smooth, boundless, and energetic surface.

As a Northern California native, Crandall-Bear established his artistic roots locally and continues to promote the growth of his community. His reputation brings him consistent national and international support from both private and public collectors. Micah’s work now adorns the walls of prominent corporations throughout the country, university hospitals, Facebook data centers in Malaysia, Sweden, and more. His work has been featured in ArtSlant, American Art Collector Magazine, Forbes, and PBS.