About the Artist

A skilled painter, multimedia artist, and charming storyteller, Michael Brent Malley draws from the Masters, the Historians, and the extraordinary beauty he sees in the land and life around him. Formally trained at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, he quickly found work at Disney only to realize the boundaries of corporate life and the incredible adventures and opportunities in the world outside. Inspired by divine mentors and magnificent peers, he was immersed in study of the High Renaissance and Baroque masters. Before long, he was a focused Illustrator gaining heroes from the Golden Age of Illustration that were waxing with Charley Russell and Howard Pyle and for the most part waning after Norman Rockwell’s passing.

As Michael continued to explore the world, he went to sea with the U.S. Navy, adding to his resume murals and portraits to officers and monuments. Finally returning to shore, he was passionately drawn to Lake Tahoe as a mural painter and portrait artist, then stepping into his dream of inspiring young students to develop their creativity and how they see the world. Retired and content, Michael is settled in his rural home painting local barns and the people, horses, and scenery of Northern Nevada. Malley is a character, quick to share some history, profound facts, or a silly tale. He might sing a song while harvesting the riches from his garden, then take his bow and his bocce ball to start an impromptu party, or an effortless mountain climb, perhaps with his horse Millie, or an engaged group of friends trying to keep his pace. He is at home in nature, possessing a unique ability to absorb beauty, reason, and appreciation in those and that around him.

From the artist:

“The barn will always be the ultimate working building where ranching, and agriculture have a fulcrum centered in Mother Earth. Often barns are repurposed now, which is just as well to salt-of-the-earth people so long as they are preserved for the future. The forefathers of the Carson Valley were the owners of many of the barns I have portrayed. Some of the nineteenth century ranchers were Dangberg, Van Sickle, Adams, Scossa, Henningsen, Settelmeyer, and Hussman. Many of these structures appear in my paintings. My technique is a lot of sketching. I am a draughtsman first. I am fond of painting on location, yet often finish in the studio with photos, and insight on what would not be seen in one setting. I glaze transparently, and often there is alla prima and scumbling along with the glazing in every painting. Nevada may be the driest state within the Union, yet where I live in the foothills of the Sierras is a most precious place on earth, to be preserved from development and remain a sanctuary to the ranching agricultural West.”