My work is an anomaly. Not beautiful like Velasquez or Corbet. I don’t think about Italy or France when I work. I think about my life and the people and events in it. Painting is like dreaming. You let go and every day new images come into view. Some get chosen, some get saved and some disappear.

In my paintings, something is always wrong. Not everything, just something. Recognizing and living with the oddities seems natural to me. I like the way it looks, this wrongness, and I work hard to have it happen in my paintings. This mislaid paint, muddled ears or noses, eyes closed that should be open, are about our world, full of small to large imperfections.  The Japaneese refer to Wabi Sabi , the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.

It is the beauty of things modest and humble.It is the beauty of things unconventional, intimate, and simple

Hopefully, my work will look good in your living room. But I would be surprised if it hangs complacently. Because something is off, something is wrong, making it right.

Michael Rosnthal
San Francisco, CA
2006