 |
| Artists |
|
|
About
Born in Vermont and raised in New York City , Michael Hoffman was instructed from an early age by his Uncle Irwin D. Hoffman, an eminent portrait artist in classical art technique.
Upon moving to Florida in 1967, Mr. Hoffman?s life took a dramatic turn when he began work as a mate on a Miami based charter fishing boat. Everyday became an exciting new adventure and encounters with billfish, sharks, and other game fish became the foundation and inspiration for a life long career as a marine wildlife artist. As time moved on, Mr. Hoffman was privileged to fish for the Marlin and Giant Tuna that were then plentiful in nearby Bahamian waters. As a crewman, Michael was an integral part of many significant catches including the 1976 Bahamas record Giant Tuna, weighing 934 lbs.
In 1978 a full time career as a fine artist replaced Big Game fishing as Mr. Hoffman?s vocation. Since then the artist has focused on recreating his experiences both old and new on canvas with special attention on the coral reef, big game fishing and the Florida landscape. Always broadening his horizons through travel, Michael?s paintings are ever evolving in subject matter, technique and medium. Many of his canvases belong to celebrities and collectors of note to include the actor Burt Reynolds, former President George Bush Senior and John Mecam former owner of the New Orleans Saints football team.
Whether a coral reefscape, landscape or sport fishing scene, Mr. Hoffman?s originals and reproductions are sure to surprise and delight both collectors and outdoorsman alike.
Michael Hoffman paints his dramatic and powerful images from his love of nature and his experiences from 25 years of working on the ocean as a professional fishing guide. From the beautiful Caribbean coral ledges to the calm, shallow, turquoise banks and the storm-tossed action of big game fishing, there is little he has not witnessed and translated to canvas.
Recreating the underwater environment itself is something Michael Hoffman has really mastered. Known internationally for the way he depicts water surfaces from the underwater point of view, he feels underwater light and reflection are the most important elements in his work. 'My underwater canvases and my surface landscapes are really quite similar in purpose and design. In underwater art the sky is the surface, the coral is the foliage, the fish are like majestic birds gliding through space. I firmly believe with all my heart that if Monet, Manet and their contemporaries were alive today they would paint the coral reef and all it?s splendor with the same passion they painted turn of the century Paris .
'Every artist wants his life?s work to stand for something, for his time here to have had meaning. The purpose of my work is to capture the rapidly vanishing environment of Florida and the Caribbean both above and below the surface before it is swallowed up by the ravages of time.'
Visit 's website.
|
|
ClearVues by this artist: |
Walleye WC319042-1
|
Bass WC319041-1
|
|
|
|
Aircraft
)
)