Mike Kupka

Artist – Mike Kupka

“I want the viewer to be there,” says the artist Mike Kupka, “to feel as if they were a part of the action, to know the personality I’m portraying.  If it’s a portrait, the eyes must draw you in, if it’s a scene then I purposefully lead the viewer directly to the action by visual clues…color, form, and texture.”

Kupka, a graduate of the fabled duCret School of Art in Plainfield, New Jersey, likens his arts education to business school; professionalism was both inside the warmth of the creative world and outside in the cooler climes of the business one.  His mentor, Peter Caras, distilled in him the need to not only be a fine painter and draftsman but also represent oneself as the consummate professional, something that Caras learned at the feet of his mentor, Norman Rockwell.

The illustrative arts and their cousins, portraiture, and landscape, come together in a unique and visionary way with the art of Mike Kupka.  A great illustrator is at once a fine draftsman and at the same time a fine artist.  Combining these traits with magician-like skills of legerdemain, Kupka is able to transcend the everyday and elevate his subjects to emotional and intellectual heights.  

This young artist has taken a professional and artistic path that includes work for the Disney Fine Art Program, as well as major sports figures and international musicians. Whether painting well-known rock stars like Ozzy Osbourne; sports stars such as Lance Armstrong and Jason Richardson or even adding new depths to the classic horror characters of Frankenstein and Dracula, his ability for capturing the timelessness and strength of these humans (fictional or real) is readily apparent.

Kupka’s horse-racing paintings are of particular note, commanding immediate attention to their exquisite complexity and beauty.  The unique qualities of the featured horse in each image render the viewer gasping at the immediacy of the moment and secretly rooting for the successful outcome of the race.  Few contemporary painters of horses capture this unique quality, you would need to travel back in time to the 19th century and the work of Rosa Bonheur to make an easy comparison.  

“Despite all the ups and downs, the tough times, and the struggles, there’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishment when signing a painting you’ve just completed. I just couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.”  Reflecting on his gift, this New Jersey native credits a close family and a loyal circle of friends as important aspects of his life…and the memories of his mother continue to inspire him each day as he faces a new canvas.  

The Chuck Jones Gallery is pleased to represent original and limited edition works of art by Mike Kupka.

Be sure to check out more Mike Kupka Art for sale to draw you into the action of the artwork and take you on a journey.