Michael Flanagan is an Oswego, New York artist whose process is playfully explorative and pieces are begun with an intentionally changeable final outcome. Underlying aspects of the historical and nostalgic might be countered with an unexpected and more “modern” approach to combining visual elements. Flanagan’s long career in the museum field sparked an interest in historic artistic styles and subjects as well as methods of presenting artworks. 

Growing up in the west, the sky and land were an overarching presence so it seems somewhat natural and inevitable that I would paint some form of landscape. One consistent presence in my work is an underlying nostalgic quality. I’m drawn to the bittersweet feeling of time passing. Even as time seems to distill only the pleasant highlights from our past, it simultaneously taunts us with its irretrievability.