Michael Tran

People have been using the north star to find their way for thousands of years. In a desert or an ocean, on one side of the planet or the other, an explorer could just look up to see the "Little Dipper" constellation point to true north.

The only reason I started painting was because of my partner. She not only centered me while I found my own way through art, but literally put a paint brush in my hand. She encouraged me to continue when I kept telling myself to quit. I left the scrunchie in the hair and contrasted it with the nude body because I could afford little else to buy my partner during my period of unemployment.

Subject: Kya

North star, 2023, oil on canvas, 36” x 48”

Michael Tran began painting with oils during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is self-taught using what he learned working as a house painter. He paints because people have told him that art is hard and only for the initiated. The first part is true, but the second isn't—anyone can enjoy a Caravaggio without knowing what chiaroscuro is.