“As I said on the home page, my philosophy has always been to use the style and technique that will best solve the client’s needs, not just rely on what I like or can easily accomplish. That is why there are so many styles and different media in my portfolio.” Michael is fluent in many illustration styles and in virtually every medium: oil, acrylic, pastel, gouache, pen and ink, watercolor as well as digital media of Illustrator and Photoshop.

Michael received his BFA in graphic design from Brigham Young University and is a career illustrator and graphic designer. Michael also taught graphic design and illustration for 25 years at St. Lawrence College and is now Professor Emeritus. The subjects he taught built on his professional experience and deepened it as well: Color Theory, Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Illustration including Computer Illustration, as well as Branding Design and Art History.

For the seven years before becoming a teacher, he was Senior Designer/Illustrator for a mid-sized design studio and advertising agency. Michael’s design and illustration experience extends to all areas of the profession including advertising, corporate identity, institutional design, annual reports, display and interpretive center design as well as print and web design.

As a stock illustrator with TheImageBank.com (now owned by GettyOne – Use advanced search under Shumate), Michael’s illustration work has been used all over the world for such clients as British Airways Magazine, Kelley Services, Macmillan McGraw-Hill publishers and Business Week. For a period of time Michael’s images were among the highest selling in the ImageBank illustration library.