My name is Zac Mikles, which is pronounced 'Michaels." I grew up at the foothills of The Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. A few years after graduating college I decided to relocate to St. Croix in the summer of 2013. After 12 years of living in The U.S. Virgin Islands, I moved outside Boulder, Colorado.

I juggle between multiple mediums including paintings, large doodle works, as well as magazine collage.

Music has always been a major factor while creating. I grew up sketching while listening to albums by my favorite artists and have always been intrigued by the album cover art. The influence from album covers is represented in a majority of my collage work, especially within the choice of size. As some art trends lean toward more digital creation, I prefer the actual physical cutting and pasting of my collage. At first glance it may appear my works are constructed on a digital format, but that should reflect my attention to detail and precision of placement. I enjoy the act of gathering materials, whether it be picking up travel magazines at rest stops and airports, as well as digging through vintage magazines at thrift stores. The fun really begins when I piece images together, almost like a puzzle, that give new life to these images through a variety of arrangements. It is important that each piece is original in the sense that the chance of recreating one of these pieces is almost impossible. This is why the medium of collage is so enjoyable for me.

All of my doodle work is done free hand. I never have a desired outcome, unless i have a predetermined center focus piece. My doodles were inspired by a man from my hometown record store, that would create large style doodle canvas pieces for his shop. I would ride my bike to the record shop often when I was a kid, not only for the music, but to see what new doodles he had manifested.

My paintings do not follow any specific rhymes or reason. They are all relative to the moment, and often are pieces that interest me at the time. I have some series I have completed such as a collection of hexagons. Other pieces are more stand alone in their representation.

Art, in a whole, is something very important to me. It has helped me navigate some of the toughest moments of my life. More tragedy will occur, as well as beauty. Art will live on, and be there for us in our darkest hours.

Thank you for letting me share pieces of myself with you.

Love Over Fear,

Zac Mikles