Michael Paul

Scottsdale, AZ, US

Realism in art has always spoken to me whether it be the most defined details or simply the mere suggestion. I can find no better medium to convey the beauty of reality than photography – a truly non-fiction format of documenting the moods and the voice of the world around us. And there is no subject embedded so deeply in my heart as the American West. It is a place as much a concept — one that is synonymous with a vast and dynamic geography ruled more so by nature and less so by man. Themes of self-reliance and opportunity are threads of its fabric, and even today that culture persists. Photography requires the creative process to unfold while immersed in this environment. The joy of being there is matched by the pleasure of returning from the field with fragmented pieces of the soul of the natural world. The voice of the West and all of its timeless messages are given a voice in my work.