MICK MCGINTY

Gilbert, Arizona

Mick McGinty’s art career began at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. His artistic skills were honed in the field of commercial illustration, and his work included some of the most recognizable illustrations in American advertising, numerous album covers, and movie posters. Today, Mick’s focus is on the Southwest and West, and his many painting trips around Arizona have been a significant factor in the shift in his work toward a more impressionistic and intuitive style. “I feel as though I’ve just skimmed the surface of my work as an artist,” he says. “I look forward to new discoveries and experiments in painting that I have yet to experience.”

For me, the trees and vegetation at Grand Canyon are just as interesting as the canyon itself, and sometimes more, when the light is just right. The junipers at the canyon are my favorite inhabitants. They have to be strong, and if you ever bumped your head on one of the branches trying to maneuver around to get a photograph, you know what I mean. They are like iron bars.

Rough and rugged, they look like individuals that you seem to have met in your life. Personalities that are either kind and gentle, or stern and unapproachable. Whatever vibe they throw out, it’s their neighborhood and I’m just trying to understand it.

Blooming Juniper | 24x30, oil