Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Reibel.
Hi Michael, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
While I began my artistic journey later in life than many contemporary painters, I am living proof that it is never too late to pursue a talent, a dream, or a passion.
I have always been drawn to the outdoors and the natural beauty of the landscape. As a young boy, I have vivid memories of riding at the front of my uncle’s boat before sunrise heading out on the lake to fish. The boat slicing through the water still as glass in a setting of solitude and peacefulness found in the early morning light. The sensory elements of nature are a moving and inspirational experience each and every time I venture out in search of material for future paintings. The stillness and quietness of the landscape often provide the inspiration for many of my works.
I love the patina and history of the south. Accordingly, the majority of my work is of the southern landscape, however, I also enjoy still life and figurative work. I am focused and passionate, striving to continually evolve and mature as an artist. I am forever working to enhance the poetic expression of my ideas with each painting.
I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and my earliest recollection of creating art was at the age of 5 during a summer art camp at the J.B. Speed Museum of Art in Louisville. I attended St. Xavier high school in Louisville where I took art electives all four years and garnered numerous scholastic art awards. I then attended Bellarmine College where I played on the basketball team and ultimately majored in accounting as landing a good job became the focus. Upon graduation, I took a position with a national accounting firm in Louisville and gained my CPA designation. Five years later, in the early 1990s, I made the decision to pursue a career path with a national healthcare company where I ultimately spent 23 years in various senior executive leadership roles.
In 2004, a chance visit to my home by a local artist proved to be a pivotal moment in my life, as I returned to my artistic ambitions. The artist was impressed with one of my paintings, a watercolor. She encouraged me to not let my artistic abilities go to waste. She referred me to a local art studio in Louisville where I signed up for classes and the journey began again. Over the next six years, I sought out the best instructors in the country taking workshops from a variety of painters whom I admired.
In 2010, I decided I wanted to pursue my fine art career without the distraction of a demanding day job, so my wife and I developed a five-year plan to leave my corporate day job and focus solely on my fine art career. My business experience impressed upon me the need for a detailed plan to position my family and I to pursue such a drastic lifestyle change and the sacrifices that would be required. Back in 2007, enticed by the coastal lifestyle and warmer winter climate in South Carolina and Georgia, my wife and I purchased a building lot in a South Carolina development with the intention of having a place to eventually retire one day. Ultimately, we made the decision to relocate to South Carolina from Kentucky well in advance of retirement.
I had purchased a commercial space in Savannah in 2007-2008 (at the corner of Broughton and Whitaker) with the intention of living in Beaufort-Seabrook, SC, and running my studio/gallery from the space in Savannah, GA. However, life threw me a major curveball I did not plan for.
I of course knew the importance of having contingencies for the unexpected in any plan given my extensive business background. There were some surprises along the way in our plan but none as profound as the one I learned about in the fall of 2010. My wife had called me while I was in a meeting at the office. She asked me to leave the meeting and come down to the parking lot to talk. I found my wife in tears and was worried about what could be possibly wrong. My wife had been to the doctor that morning and told me she was pregnant with our fourth child; in fact, she was 15 weeks pregnant at the age of 46. This was one contingency NOT in the plan but so very special! With tears, astonishment, and surprise, she told me she still wanted to pursue our plan for me to be a full-time artist (so much for being empty nesters!). My wife was also in the midst of pursuing her Ph.D. in Nursing Research at the University of Louisville. Needless to say, I am quite fortunate to have married such a wonderful woman!
Given the reality of raising a 4th child while simultaneously making this major leap from secure employment to a self-employed creative, we decided to sell the Savannah space and consider other options for selling my work.
With the arrival of 2015, we began making the final preparations for all that we had planned. We built a home and a studio on our lot in Seabrook, SC (about 21 miles west of Beaufort, SC), and my wife completed her Ph.D. in Nursing Research. My family and I made our big move from Kentucky to South Carolina in May 2016.
Upon my arrival to South Carolina, I immediately sought representation from top-tier galleries. Accordingly, I am now represented by George Davis Fine Art and Interiors in Savannah and Wells Gallery in Kiawah, SC. I maintain a second studio and gallery in Beaufort, SC as well.
Since making the move south, I have found the clean light and abundant sunshine of the coast to be a refreshing change from what I frequently encountered in Kentucky when heading out to paint. I am an avid outdoorsman with family still in Kentucky and I plan to be making return trips in order to have the opportunity to paint the Kentucky landscape as it will always have a special place in my heart.
Needless to say, I am very excited about the future of my work! I have ambitious goals and want to thank my patrons and collectors for all of their support and interest thus far, more to come!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think pursuing any creative endeavor such as fine art, music, writing, acting, etc. is extremely challenging and not an easy road. You have to have a lot of self-confidence, discipline, perseverance, dedicated work ethic, and frankly, a little luck. It goes without saying that the product of your craft also has to appeal to people to spend their discretionary income on your creations. When I first came to South Carolina, I was able to secure gallery representation with one gallery, however, I quickly realized it was going to take more than one to be able to sell enough work to make ends meet.
I also found the isolating/solo nature of being an artist to be a bigger adjustment than I considered. Coming from a corporate role where I led multiple departments and a staff of 160 people, my day was filled with lots of social engagement and interaction with others. After a while, being in my studio by myself day in and day out became very lonely. So, one of the things I did was to seek out a life drawing open studio session. Attending something like this gave me the social interaction and camaraderie with other artists that got me out of my studio once a week. I found such a group in Savannah at The Studio School of Savannah.
It led to new friendships, a new network of art friends, and teaching opportunities for me. I became rather disappointed in the gallery representation I had initially secured so I began looking for other galleries to represent my work. In the early fall of 2018, I submitted my portfolio to Wells Gallery on Kiawah Island, SC. I toured all the galleries in Charleston, SC in order to assess who might be a fit. There were so many that I was concerned about how I would stand out in the crowd with so many artists and galleries in Charleston. I never actually went to Wells Gallery prior to submitting my work. I knew of them and knew they were a top-tier gallery in the Southeast. In fact many, many years ago I admired their gallery in Charleston before I had even considered going all-in with my art career.
They had closed their Charleston location and they were the only gallery on Kiawah and a bit further out from all the Charleston art galleries I had identified. So, I thought why not? Take a chance. Rejection is part of the territory for all creatives and I have had plenty and still do! I honestly did not think anything would come of it, so I was shocked when I filled out their online application and they responded rather quickly. The next thing I knew the owner was at my home studio conducting a 4-hour interview to represent me and my work. It was nothing short of a game-changer and my sales took off! It was that little bit of luck you need as a creative. I was simply in the right place at the right time and never would have imagined how significantly it would change my art career.
Part of obtaining gallery representation is finding a gallery that has an opening for your work when you apply. It is often a matter of timing, your work may be superb but just not a fit at that time for the stable of artists they already have. Next was Savannah, I had known the owners of George Davis Fine Art and Antiques for many years after purchasing the commercial space in Savannah. They had made the decision to focus their “brick and mortar” space in Savannah on fine art as their antiques primarily sold online and through interior designer networks. I again was fortunate and had a little luck to have already met them when this decision was made and was happy to have them represent my work in Savannah when they approached me.
Finally, opening a second studio/gallery in Beaufort has been a game-changer for other reasons. I am an artist but I am a business entrepreneur so having the opportunity to interact with clients and visitors to my space has been very much in my wheelhouse. I enjoy marketing, discussing my work and process… being my own entrepreneur given my business background. Has it been smooth? Not entirely, but I believe that is the nature of being an entrepreneur in any business. It’s up to you to make it happen! You have to always be thinking and have multiple “lines in the water” in order to succeed.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I graduated from college with a degree in accounting. I became a certified public accountant and went to work for KPMG Peat Marwick then spent 23 years in corporate America with a healthcare company. Well in advance of retirement, I walked away from corporate America to see if I could make it as an artist. That is probably what I am most proud of… it took a lot of guts and a very supportive spouse who also believed in me to make this dream a reality.
Many people dream it, but few would act on it at age 50. I left a very high-paying C-level position to paint every day of the week, plain and simple. As an artist, my work focuses primarily on the southern coastal landscape and my bourbon/spirits still life series. As a Kentucky native, I knew how popular bourbon was in the South. So, a couple of years ago, I started painting bourbon still life paintings as a way to paint from life during the summer when it is too hot and humid to be outside painting the landscape. The series has been extremely popular, so now I paint this year-round and have expanded the series to other spirits and cocktails.
As for the coastal work, I seem to be drawn to early morning and late evening or nocturne scenes, in particular. I have recently begun a Moody marsh series which I think will be unique from the perspective of presenting the low country landscape in a more contemporary and interpretive color palette than what I have typically focused on in my work. I also like painting the landscape from life, so when the heat and humidity of summer wanes, I head outside to paint quite a bit when I am not in the studio.
How do you define success?
Given where I came from and why I did what I did, success for me has been found in being a creative entrepreneur and self-employed. I am so grateful for the opportunity to pursue my passion without the requirement of a day job. Success has also been found through collectors and patrons purchasing my work. Seeing the joy and connection a buyer has with something you created is very fulfilling. In addition, my work has been accepted to national juried exhibitions over the years. Artistically, success has been found in seeing my work continue to evolve and mature now that I am able to paint every day. All the artists I admire have been painting for 40+ years, so I hope to stay healthy and sharp for the rest of my life so I can continue to improve my skills and grow as an artist.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.mreibelpaintings.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mreibelpaintings/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.reibel.98/
