Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Hewett.
Hi Mike, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story actually starts in a pretty traditional place: I went to college to study Business, and after graduating I worked as a management consultant on IT and digital-transformation projects for Fortune 500 companies.
What most people didn’t know about me, though, is that long before any of that, I always wanted to be an artist. As a kid, that was the dream. But somewhere along the way I convinced myself art wasn’t a “real” path, so I took the practical route and focused on business.
A few years ago, that changed. I reached a point where I realized something was missing, so I went back to painting with real intention. I studied classical realism, color mixing, proportion — all the fundamentals I never formally learned. And it clicked. Painting shifted from a hobby to a serious second career, and honestly, a huge part of my identity.
Now I paint large-scale, modern realist works with a baroque influence — dramatic lighting, symbolism, and subjects with a sense of presence and meaning. I’ve built a cohesive body of work and I’m showing more and more. It’s been an unexpected but natural evolution of who I am.
What’s interesting is how my background actually supports my art. Years in corporate America taught me structure, problem-solving, and discipline — all of which make me a better artist — and the creative side makes me better at everything else.
So the short version is: I built a traditional career, but rediscovered that I’m an artist at my core — and now both sides of my life work together.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road. The biggest challenge was stepping away from a very established career and moving toward something as uncertain as becoming an artist. When you’ve spent years building a professional identity — titles, credentials, predictable milestones — it’s scary to walk into a world where none of that really matters. At times it felt like I was tearing down something solid to chase something completely unknown, and I honestly questioned whether I was being brave or just being self-destructive.
Starting over is humbling. You have to rebuild everything from scratch: your skills, your style, your confidence, your audience. And even though I’m making and selling work now, I’m very aware that I still have a long way to go. There’s no clear path, no guaranteed next step, no corporate ladder to climb. The work speaks for itself — and that’s it.
But the struggle has also been a turning point. The uncertainty forced me to take painting seriously, to study, to improve, and to be honest about what I want my life to look like. It’s not easy, but it’s meaningful — and that’s what makes the hard parts worth it
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a modern realist painter. I work large and specialize in statement pieces that have presence. My style leans heavily on baroque principles — dramatic lighting, strong value structure, and a sense of quiet symbolism.
I think what I’m becoming known for is that blend of modern realism with a baroque mood. My work is representational but has a narrative undercurrent. People often tell me the paintings feel like portraits, even when the subject is an animal. That’s intentional — I want each one to feel like a character, not just an image.
What I’m most proud of is the craft. I’ve spent a lot of time studying classical realism — drawing in proportion, accurate color mixing, value control — and those fundamentals show in the work. Every painting has a strong underpainting, a thoughtful palette, and deliberate choices in composition and symbolism. That foundation is what allows the paintings to feel both grounded and elevated.
What sets me apart, I think, is that I didn’t come into art through the traditional fine-art route. My background in business and technology gave me a very structured way of approaching the work. I think like a builder — each painting has a process, a rhythm, a logic behind it — but the end result is emotional and expressive. It’s a blend you don’t see very often.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
For me, the most important quality has been persistence — just the willingness to keep going, keep improving, and keep showing up even when the path isn’t clear. Art requires a long-term mindset. You have to be okay with slow progress, with revising, with failing on the canvas and starting again. That persistence is what helped me rebuild my skills as an adult and develop a real body of work.
Right behind that is curiosity. I’m always trying to understand why something works — whether it’s a value structure, a color relationship, or the way light falls across a subject. That curiosity keeps the work evolving instead of stagnating.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mikehewettstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikehewettstudio/
