Michael Burpoe
Watercolor Artist
Native to the Adirondacks in New York State, Michael Burpoe is a watercolor artist who enjoys nature and lifestyle paintings. He signs his work with his middle name, Czerny, as a nod to the original spelling of his maternal grandfather’s name that was changed when he immigrated to this country from Poland.
Michael studied Graphic Design at the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2017.
Michael began watercolor painting in earnest in 2020 as a form of escapism from the stress and loneliness of living alone during the pandemic. He found the welcome distraction of painting was a wonderful way to shut off his brain, and continued the practice even after quarantine had ended.
In 2021, Michael displayed a small selection of 20 of his paintings at the Blue Moon Cafe in his hometown, Saranac Lake.
In early 2022, he was awarded the People's Choice award at the Adirondack Artists Guild's 24th Annual Juried Show. This helped spur him on to host his first gallery show at the Adirondack Artists Guild as the Featured Artist for February 2023, earning him numerous accolades.
In September & October of 2023, Michael traveled to Japan, where he painted one plein air painting a day for 18 days.
Michael joined the Adirondack Artists Guild in 2025 and maintains a wall display of his work in their gallery.
Michael seeks to embed his illustrations into the culture of his hometown. Since 2021 he has painted an annual illustration of the iconic Lawn Chair Ladies that march in the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival parade, and most recently in 2024 he released the first of his annual Ice Palace Workers (IPW-101) stickers, free to workers and available for sale on his website.
Thank you!