Page 65 - December 2021

year’s Gold Medal in Water Solubles, also won the Anne Marion Best of Show Award and sold for $18,500. His Burning Daylight work won the Gold Medal in Mixed Media.
Donahue presented a total of five pieces of art at the event, the two mentioned above as well as The Hired Hand Colt, The Bolter and Moving Along.
Mikel was inducted as a member of the Cowboy Artists of America in 2016, and
the CA has given him the recognition he
so rightly deserves. He has won a medal or medals every year at their annual exhibition. “I’ve always admired the CA as the epitome of what western art is. It’s a very selective and
diverse group of members, but we all have the same mind-set about the culture of the west,” he said.
As a child, Mikel loved to draw horses. After graduating from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mikel earned
a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tulsa. He then went to work for Ad Inc. and became a multiple award-winning designer there. “In school, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I thought, ‘Well, I like to eat,’ so I decided I needed to have a real job and I focused on commercial design. I spent 30 years working, all the while doing my own art.”
“Moving Along”
Mikel exhibited his work at many top art shows, and he finally made the move and quit his job when his wife Christie emboldened him to become a full-time artist. “Christie really encouraged me. She said, ‘This is your dream - do it.’ She kind of hit the go button.”
Mikel has been a full-time artist ever since but admits he has had some ups and downs over the years. “In the beginning,
I attended some big shows and got a lot of exposure and sold a lot of my art. Then, there were times when I couldn’t give it away!”
When it comes to his art, Mikel believes it is important to be able to paint things he can relate to - real people, real places. “It’s
SPEEDHORSE December 2021 63