The Loft on Main, 112 E. Main Street, Morrison, IL, will host a Meet the Artist reception for Michael Dunbar, on Saturday, June 8, 2019, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Since 1991 he and his wife Anne have lived in Prophetstown, IL. She is a Health Care Administrator in Prophetstown. They have two grown sons.
In 1990, when he lived in Davenport, IA, Dunbar gained wide recognition for his wildlife/nature paintings, after he won both the Iowa Habitat Stamp Print (of two White Tail deer) and the Iowa (Rainbow) Trout Stamp Print competitions. Choosing the subjects for his designs was easy, because he has great respect and fondness for the grace and beauty of deer. For his fish painting, he wanted to visualize the trout fishing experience, through an angled fish diving in turbulent water with hook in mouth.
The print below is available at The Loft on Main.
From 1994 to 1999, he worked towards a Master’s degree in Education. He was a substitute teacher in Morrison, Prophetstown, and Tampico Elementary Schools during that time, teaching Kindergarten and Physical Education, among other subjects. “I loved it!” he stated.
After he was unable to complete the advanced degree, Dunbar created a business making educational posters in Bettendorf, IA, where he was born. He distributed educational materials for kids to use in schools. He manufactured fishing lures, and does so full time.
In the late 1990’s he called his art career to an end. Dunbar needed to “travel all over the Midwest, to Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City” to reach art shows. “We had two sons at home, and I couldn’t maintain the art exhibits,” he said.
Today he is “not officially” creating art. For The Loft on Main artist reception, however, Dunbar has brought a few new pieces: prints of a Prophetstown eagle and a Labrador Retriever with kittens; one eagle print with a poem printed across it (more can be made); one photograph of a bobwhite quail.
Dunbar states relaying the beauty of wildlife and nature has always been an objective. His designs were formed by inspiration in his personal experiences with wildlife.
Stop by and visit with this accomplished artist, see his work, and view all of the new offerings available in The Loft on Main, at 112 E. Main Street, Morrison, IL.
