Michael’s work has been featured in various publications, including Art of the West, Western Art & Architecture, Big Sky Journal, Southwest Art, and Western Art Collector. His paintings have won Awards of Excellence from both Western Art Collector and Southwest Art Magazines, the FASO Boldbrush Award, and several International Gallery Awards through Mondial Art Academia.
Oil painting of historic and mid-last century western movie icons.
2023 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, Denver CO
2022 Maxwell Alexander Gallery Black Friday Exhibition, Los Angeles CA
2022 Alaska Biennial, Anchorage Museum, Anchorage, AK
2022 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Cody WY
2022 C.M. Russell Museum Art Auction, Great Falls MT
2022 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, Denver CO
2021 Maxwell Alexander Gallery Black Friday Exhibition, Los Angeles CA
2021 C.M. Russell Museum Art Auction, Great Falls MT
2021 Montana Miniatures Art Show & Sale, Great Falls MT
2021 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, Denver CO
2020 Jackson Hole Art Auction, Jackson WY
2020 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Cody WY
2020 C.M. Russell Museum Art Auction, Great Falls MT
2020 First Strike Friday Night Auction, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2020 Art In Action Artist, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2020 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, Denver CO
2019 Maxwell Alexander Gallery Black Friday Exhibition, Los Angeles CA
2019 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Cody WY
2019 Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale, Cheyenne WY
2019 C.M. Russell Museum Art Auction, Great Falls MT
2019 First Strike Friday Night Auction, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2019 Art In Action Artist, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2019 Out West Art Show & Sale, Great Falls MT
2019 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, Denver CO
2018 Maxwell Alexander Gallery Black Friday Exhibition, Los Angeles CA
2018 Miniatures By The Lake Invitational, Coeur D'Alene ID
2018 3 Artist Show, Montana Trails Gallery, Bozeman MT
2018 Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale, Cheyenne WY
2018 Out West Art Show & Sale, Great Falls MT
2018 C.M. Russell Museum Art Auction, Great Falls MT
2018 First Strike Friday Night Auction, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2018 Art In Action Artist, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2018 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, Denver CO
2017 Maxwell Alexander Gallery Black Friday Exhibition, Los Angeles CA
2017 Art in the West Exhibition, High Desert Museum, Bend OR
2017 Coeur D'Alene Galleries Miniatures by the Lake, Coeur D'Alene ID
2017 Maxwell Alexander Gallery Small Works Show, Los Angeles CA
2017 Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, Denver CO
2016 Mountain Oyster Club Art Show & Sale, Tucson AZ
2016 Maxwell Alexander Gallery Black Friday Exhibition, Los Angeles CA
2016 Heart of the West Auction, Bozeman MT
2016 Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale, Cheyenne WY
2016 Whitefish Invitational Art Show, Quick Finish Artist, Whitefish MT
2016 C.M. Russell Museum Art Auction, Great Falls MT
2016 First Strike Friday Night Auction, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2016 Art In Action Artist, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2015 Mountain Oyster Club 46th Annual Western Art Show & Sale, Tuscon AZ
2015 “Rebels & Renegades” Blessing Collaborative Show, Bozeman MT
2015 Traveling The West Art Show & Sale, Dallas,TX
2015 “Rust and Dust” Blessing Collaborative Show, Clymer Museum, Ellensburg WA
2015 Heart of the West Art Auction, Coeur D’Alene ID
2015 Calgary Stampede Western Art Live Auction, Quick Draw Artist, Calgary AB
2015 Whitefish Invitational Art Show, Whitefish MT
2015 “Ride On In”, Invitational Show, St. George Art Museum, St. George UT
2015 Bucking Horse Sale & Quick Draw, Miles City MT
2015 Out West Art Show & Sale, Great Falls MT
2015 C.M. Russell First Strike Friday Night Auction, Great Falls MT
2015 Art In Action Artist, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2015 Western Spirit Art Show & Sale, Old West Museum, Cheyenne WY
2014 62nd Annual Sausalito Art Festival, Sausalito CA
2014 Western Art Collector Award of Excellence, ICONS of the West, Missoula MT
2014 Innovators, Inventors and Entrepreneurs, Hockaday Art Museum, Kalispell MT
2014 First Strike Friday Night Auction, C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls MT
2014 Western Masters Art Show & Sale, Great Falls, MT
2013 'Form, Figure & Function' Blessing Collaborative Show, Waterworks Art Museum, Miles City MT
2013 Western Masters Art Show and Sale, Great Falls MT
2012 Juried Exhibition, Western Design Conference, Jackson Hole WY
Permanent Collections:
Waterworks Art Museum, Miles City MT
Triple Creek Ranch, Darby MT
Education:
2014 Painting Workshop, Robert Moore, Declo, ID
2012 MAP coaches certification, Montana Arts Council
2012 MAP certification, Montana Arts Council
2012 Oil Mentorship, Josh Elliot, Helena MT
2005-2012 Giclèe Fine Art Reproduction
2005-2006 Independent Study, Photography
2003 Painting Workshop, Peggy Kroll, Federicksburg TX
2002 Drawing/Drafting Study, Ralph Weigman, MSU, Bozeman MT
2024 Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale, Cody WY
2024 C.M. Russell Museum Art Auction, Great Falls MT
2024 Maxwell Alexander Gallery Black Friday Exhibition, Los Angeles CA
Awards:
2019 Best In Show, Rm. 126, Out West Art Show & Sale, Great Falls Montana
2018 International Gallery Award, Gold, Mondial Art Academy, Aimargues France
2017 Curator's Choice, Art in the West, High Desert Museum
2016 International Gallery Award, Silver, Mondial Art Academy, Aimargues France
2016 BOLDBRUSH Award, April
2015 Best In Show 2D, Art Across Montana, WaterWorks Art Museum
2015 Public Art Installation, Big Sky MT
2015 Award of Excellence, Southwest Art Magazine, Western Spirit Art Show
2015 Public Art Installation, Downtown Billings MT
2014 Award of Excellence, Western Art Collector Magazine, ICONS of the West
2014 SIG Grant, Montana Arts Council
2013 Public Art Installation, Downtown Bozeman MT
Publications:
Art of the West Magazine, 'The Studio of Michael Blessing', Nov/Dec 2023
Western Art & Architecture, 'Artist Spotlight', April/May 2022
Paradigm Shift & Other Essays on Western Art by Nick Thornburg, ©2020
Art of the West Magazine, 'Quest For Discovery', March/April 2019
Southwest Art Magazine, Cover Artist, May 2017
Southwest Art Magazine, 'Lit From Within', May 2017
Western Art & Architecture, ‘The Contemporary West In Harmony’, August 2015
Big Sky Journal Arts Issue, ‘Creative Business’, July 2015
Western Art Collector, ‘Technicolor Connections’, June 2014
Montana Quarterly Magazine, ‘Distilled Life’, Summer 2006
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