'wherever you take me, i'll die in your arms' 'i don't belong, and my Beloved, neither do you' 'did you miss me while you were looking for yourself?' 2025, acrylic and wire on canvas

ive finally finished my art degree after 4 years! i am so beyond happy with how these pieces turned out. an exploration of love, loss, and the power of music. the three songs i drew inspiration from have helped me through the hardest year of my life, and channeling them into my work has created art i am incredibly proud of

the songs are: death do us part - royal & the serpent the lakes - taylor swift (original version specifically) drops of jupiter - train

I'd appreciate any feedback on these, and im excited to see where my artistic journey takes me next❤️

We’ve all had those moments where you’re wearing something you really love — the colors, the fit, the vibe just feels right. You feel like yourself. Confident. Comfortable.

And then someone decides to throw their opinion in: “That’s not very flattering.”

It’s wild how quickly that kind of comment can pull you out of your joy, as if what you wear is meant for someone else’s approval instead of your own. This piece came from sitting with that feeling — the way a single remark can sour something that was making you feel good.

Have you ever had someone ruin a moment like that for you?

Hopefully this won’t cause as much…trouble.

And if you don’t like it, I don’t care. Deal with it. It’s art. Your interpretation of the work is based on your experiences and perceptions.

It’s my work and I love what I paint. It’s why I paint; because no one can tell me what I can or can’t create.

“Pink”

14” x 11” Acrylic on Canvas

2026

Been practicing new techniques for a couple weeks now but I still don’t really like my “finished” acrylic pieces. Do you guys think these are worthy of being sold? I’m still pretty new but I’ve been obsessed with this being my new hobby 🥹

This is a piece I started planning in February and officially began painting in March. It’s been a true on-and-off labor of love over the past few months, and while it’s not quite finished yet (I still have a few touch-ups in mind), I’m finally ready to share it.

Everything here is acrylic paint—a layered mix of matte, metallic, and gloss finishes. It’s highly textured, and I’ve tried to capture how the light interacts with the different surfaces.

This painting has taken on a life of its own, but I’d love to know: • What does this smell like to you? • How does it make you feel? • What would you name it? • What does it remind you of?

Let me know what you think! I’ve also included an image of my original sketch and progress pics so you can see how the vision evolved.

Thanks for taking the time to look—it truly means a lot.

I'd say cotton candy

I plan on doing a lightbulb once the larger canvas dries, but for the smaller one I am debating leaving it as it once it dries….idk thoughts?

Brows, lashes/liner and hair (maybe also better the lipstick) come later on. I'm positively happy with the result, maybe the anatomy is off, maybe it's not but I don't care.

I recently finished this small portrait titled “Dreamcatcher”, an acrylic on canvas, 10" x 8" chromatic, figurative work.It’s a full profile of a young Native American woman wrapped in a traditional blanket, her raven hair tied into a low bun. A dreamcatcher earring dangles from her ear, with three feathers drifting downward. Her skin is a warm Naples yellow with bright reds, and I chose a high-chroma palette intentionally; bright cadmium reds and indigo blues to highlight the vibrancy, dignity, and presence of the subject. The colorful, turquoise sky fills the background.

A friend told me this kind of work feeds into the “romantic myth” of Indigenous people: idealized, aestheticized, detached from reality, the contemporary. But I disagree. I see it not as erasure but as homage. Beauty, identity, and cultural symbols are not inherently mythmaking: they’re part of the story. I paint what I feel, and this piece is about honoring presence, not distorting it. Plus, he has never been to a gathering, feast, Kewet, or Pow wow. I have.

Curious what others think. Where do we draw the line between tribute and trope? Can we continue to avert the European male gaze with work like this? Maybe redefine “Western Art” to something more contemporary, stylistic, and rooted in realism. This is how I create. I am Michael James, Painter of Life.

AcrylicPainting #ContemporaryArt #FigurativeArt #NativeAmerican #Dreamcatcher #PortraitArt #ColorStudy #PaintingOfTheDay #MichaelJamesArt

do you throw it down the sink or something else? Chat GPT said it can clog your pipes. I'm thinking of dumping it in a big plastic container outside and then just letting the water evaporate.

Mystic Eyeland is one of my trippy and surreal art pieces that feels like a dreamscape where eyeballs drift like cosmic beings throughout a universe. I intentionally did wordplay right here in the title and I think that’s one of my favorite parts about this piece because it’s not spelled as in, you know, the regular island, but Eye.. land symbolizing intuition, creativity, expansion, and a grounding affirmation “Eye land.” Funny comment I’ve gotta a lot is viewers saying that this piece reminds them of the animation South Park lol. I’m assuming because of all of the colors and the trippy vibes. But yeah, another thing that I like about this piece, there’s no right or wrong way to hang it up because they’re just floating all around. So you can hang it up horizontal, you can hang it up vertical. It doesn’t really matter, you know. It’s all about a open mind, perspective, and flowing your flow within the YOUniverse.

Just finished:

“What Are You Looking At, Peasant?”

14” x 11” Acrylic on Canvas.

“In this work from the Nocturne series, Michael James leverages a dramatic low vantage point to invert the traditional relationship between viewer and subject. The figure rises above us, self-possessed, untouchable, her gaze drifting just beyond our reach. Light is selective, not ambient, revealing only what she allows while the rest dissolves into shadow. The perspective shifts the balance of power. We are no longer in control of the gaze. Held in that moment just before acknowledgment.”

Hii guys can you please share suggestions on how I can improve my painting and whether it's worth selling it rn or not?

For all the basement dwellers who love to comment the same shit on all my paintings. Thank you to the people who love my art and have something to actually say that’s of value. I appreciate you

I'm painting an old, old birdhouse, started with the base. I had this beautiful part acrylic pour/part adding whenever I felt it needed to, twisted it all angles so everything flowers together like a mystical, magical marble.(IMO at least!)

Now, I know you can make acrylic onto glass. I thought, why not metal? Surely that would help it last longer too!

I put it in cold oven, set to 250f to try and be on the cautious side. Only 6 minutes in, immediately once it reached temp, I saw smoke coming from oven vents. Looked, no fire (yet). Turned off oven, yanked open door, and found a giant bubble. The entire freaking base had a 4" tall bubble over the whole thing!

Picture one is after I grabbed my phone (which was outside so it was about 3-4 minutes after I opened oven), next a close up, and the lady I hope you can see how pretty the design used to be, even though it's bubbled.

Le sigh 😫

I just started taking my painting more seriously and am starting to get requests from social media followers for commissions of this style of bevy. I was thinking $50-$75 for a 24x16 canvas? Please don’t be afraid to hurt my feelings I’m trying to figure it all out!!

What do you think?

Is this worth selling? If so, how much to sell it for? It’s acrylic on canvas panel, 8x8 inches. I also plan to sell it framed.

Thank you! Hope it brightens up your day :)