About

Michael Arthurs is a Hamilton-born artist now living in North Bay, ON. His education includes being an Ontario Scholar (1972), later graduating with a degree in Honours Biology at the University of Western Ontario. He went on to study medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON. Michael trained in emergency medicine and anesthesia at the University of Ottawa, and began practicing emergency medicine in 1982.

Michael has been drawing and photographing wildlife since childhood. Once settled in North Bay, he started painting and sculpting in earnest. In 1989, he began competing nationally and internationally with his sculptures and is now well known in his venue. Michael’s first major win was Best of Show at the Ward World Championships in Maryland (1994). Since then, he has also won best of show at the Canadian, North American and Northern National championships. Since then he has won Third Best in World and Best in World at the Ward World Championships.

Michael always aims at accuracy but originality and dynamic composition are the hallmarks of his work. His sculptures in wood, stone and bronze may take over six-hundred hours to complete. At least twenty-percent of this time is spent researching and designing—time well spent to keep him excited through to the last brushstroke.

Competition wood pieces are sculpted from tupelo gum wood from the southern bayous of Louisiana, and are painted with acrylics, gauche and sometimes oils. Bronze pieces are sculpted from wax and then cast using the lost-wax process. Michael loves the permanence and history of bronze sculptures.

Over the past nine years Michael has been traveling back and forth to Central America to photograph and catalogue the birds, reptiles and insects of Costa Rica. His plan is to gather enough photographic data to publish a photo journal on the Wildlife of Costa Rica. These wildlife encounters are, of course, great inspiration for future works of art as well.