Original Oils by Michael Silbaugh

I have always had a passion for painting and so from a very early age I lived my dream, winning my first award in a third grade art show in the Los Angeles county fair 1953. I went on to win awards at shows in my high school in Winchester, Kentucky. In my early 20's, I worked for different reproduction studios in and around Hollywood and Burbank, in San Fernando valley, CA. under artist studio pen names: Bartuck, Travis, and Silva. In 1966 - 1967, I worked under my own artist pen name Silva , during my stay in Safford, AZ, and in the years of 1967 - 1971 in Santa Barbara, CA. In 1971 my wife and I moved to Santa Cruz, CA. A sudden crisis in 2017 propelled me to start painting again with renewed vigor by resuming my art career.

The ocean, especially Monterey Bay, has always inspired me to paint but so has Hawaii with its tumultuous volcano eruptions. My love for western saloons and landscape has also made their face on many of my canvases. The landscape of Monterey, and the vineyards gracing our state as well as in Italy has made their way into my art as well.