Mychael started drawing at the age of three. His mother Star, a talented artist herself, was his first encouragement. She taught him light and shadow techniques and perspective at a very early age. His most vivid memory of their early drawing sessions is when she demonstrated a lighted and slightly melted candle in a dark room; the way the flame had a corona and how each drip of wax had its own elongated shadow beneath it. It was a very entrancing moment and it probably laid the foundation for his eventual “style”. He was also introduced to the works of Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish and William Bouguereau whose precision of shape and color were major inspirations.

In junior high school he was commissioned by classmates to draw their favorite cartoon characters, and the “role-playing-geeks” would pay him a week's worth of lunch money to draw their gaming personalities. This is also when he discovered the modern masters of fantasy art, like the Hildebrandt brothers, Brian Froud and Boris Vallejo, among others. He'd become an avid people watcher by then as well and had gotten pretty adept at anatomy and expression. In high school he failed art class for using the supplies to do his own thing instead of the assignments, which he found utterly boring. He considers that “subversive learning”, not failure. Being sent to the principal's office for drawing naked women with swords is an accomplishment in his eyes, “Hell, it's still one of my favorite topics.”

In the 20+ years since high school he's lived in many places and has been exposed to many influences. He's met and traded ideas/techniques with artists of all types, some famous and some not-so. His fascination for human psychology and all its wicked hang-ups has led to a certain comfort zone regarding his art; “I simply do not care about criticism. To me art critics are childish boors that have no respect for the individual and are caged in routine. If I want advice I will ask for it. My paintings are expressions, not pleas. People will understand what they're capable of and that's that.”

He enjoys making art and that is why he does it. Meeting clever, bold and wily people feeds his creative flow. Many of his pieces are blatantly sexual in nature, but like most honest things in life they have hidden messages. “I am not at liberty to explain my art to anyone, it is up to the viewers to see what they see. I create them and that's plenty of work for me.” He sometimes find things in a painting that he wasn't aware of when he created it. “That's the hand of Mystery, the hand of my Invisible Friend, at work. Life is a complex holy experience with people coming and going, doing and dying. I am very grateful to have what I have, and I share what I am able to. Like it or not, this is what I have to offer the world.”

Mychael Lee's artwork will be on display in the Bookmans Flagstaff café throughout the month of August.