Mike Lyon

Painting Drawing Printmaking Japanese Woodblock Printing Furniture Lighting

Maggie 85 x 44 inches watercolor and ink (pen and ink drawing)

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The inimitable Maggie Rose Mull “Let’s Fall in Love” ukulele style As Eric Fischl spoke at the opening of America Now and Here, a young woman in the crowd stood out as though haloed in sparkler-sparks.  I asked my friend, Donald Rosenfeld, who is THAT girl? Don knew her and told me her name was […]

20 Sarahs – 100 x 70 inch acrylic and ink on four panels

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After painting a large (4.75 x 12 feet) sheet of heavy watercolor paper with red acrylic paint, I drew 20 images of Sarah jumping using white and black ink pens. The sheet was then cut into four 25 x 70 inch sheets, each with five figures, pasted with wall paper paste, and adhered them to […]

Marishi-ten and Sarah – 53 x 46 acrylic and ink on panel

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In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Marishi-ten is the goddess of the heavens, goddess of light, and a solar deity. Although Marishi-ten worship predates Zen, it is geared towards a similar meditative mode to enable a warrior to achieve a heightened spiritual level. Losing interest in issues of victory or defeat (life and death), he is freed […]

Cambodia 2 pen and ink drawing – 45 x 85 inches

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I’ll try to explain this series of drawings from S-21 prison in Phnom-Penh and the killing field not far away pretty soon, I suppose. The young men and women whose remains are the subject of my recent drawing were imprisoned by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia during the late 1970’s. Confined in S-21 […]

“Misty” pen and ink drawing 82 x 45 inches

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My friend, accomplished figurative ceramist Misty Gamble, teaches Foundations at the Kansas City Art Institute agreed to model for me wearing her powder-blue faux fur jacket.  She was super-animated and great to work with and for.  I don’t really know ‘why’, but it seemed to me that a deep green paper color would suit this […]

Carlos Pen and Ink Drawing 75 x 45 inches

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My friend, Kim Weinberger told me that her friend, Carlos Hernandez, had admired my work at the America Now and Here show and wanted to model for me – she introduced us over drinks and…  Well Carlos is a great looking guy and the following weekend he came to my studio to model for me. […]

pen and ink drawing of Miguel Rivera

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Miguel Rivera is chair of printmaking at the Kansas City Art Institute.  He is a wonderful teacher – gentle and thoughtful.  He has a great face and as soon as we met I asked if he’d model for a portrait.  You can learn all about Miguel and see some of his work on his web […]