"Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1950, my first home was a trailer traveling from Oklahoma to Ohio, where my family settled. I was always drawing or painting (dinosaurs mainly). Most years, we would take driving vacations to Florida or Michigan, or go camping at the local parks. These experiences are among my fondest memories and set the course my life would take.

 In the late 1960s and early ’70s, I attended Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, studying  psychology, anthropology, and art. In 1973 I earned a BFA in fine art.

I came to the West over 30 years ago, drawn by its spectacular landscapes. I pursued the landscape in art through a variety of styles and media, now working exclusively in oil.

 I love getting out on the road and exploring the country, being overwhelmed by its grandeur and amazed by its subtlety. I love painting the landscape, whether I do it right there on the spot or
later back in the studio. It is a wonderful challenge to try to recreate the essence of a place with paint and canvas."

Michael Baum specializes in contemporary representational paintings of the western and southwestern landscape.
He is represented in many private, corporate, and public collections nationally and internationally.

Michael lives and works in Manitou Springs, Colorado.