Caractures by Michael White - Caricatures & Silhouettes
Caractures by Michael White offers Caricatures & Silhouettes for any event in Tampa FL.

Michael White was born April 24, 1964 in Campbell California. He grew up in Rock Hill South Carolina Where he started freelancing art at the early age of 14. By the time he was 17 he had won a great deal of recognition and awards including a scholarship from the Rock Hill Artists Guild which allowed him to attend the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota Florida. He graduated as an Illustration major from Ringling in 1985. Before graduation Michael supported himself and his education by continuing to freelance. Since then, Michael has gone on to build a busy career in illustration. He has done everything from album and CD covers, to logos, t-shirt designs, board games, theatre posters, billboards, animated CD Rom games, card designs and comics. Some of his most notable clients are Delta Airlines, Amoco Oil, Tropicana, The New York Times, The Atlantis Resort, Comcast Cable, FPL, Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota Magazine and Marvel, DC and Topps Comics. Currently Michael teaches non-credit classes at Ringling and continues to do freelance illustration full-time.

At around 11 years old I discovered comic books. I fell in love with the art form and without delay created my own comic series. "The Cobra Strikes Back". I started on notebook paper for the first 12 issues and then advanced to sketch pad paper and eventually on to poster board so I could ink them and reproduce them on a zerox machine. I was experimenting with a lot of styles and mediums at that time. I was making art out of everything. I even illustrated my book reports rather the teachers wanted me to or not. I was clever enough to know that If my report wasn't the best then my art would help my grade. Another reason I was creating so much at that point was to win ribbons at the county fair. Every ribbon was worth a certain cash prize amount so by the end of it all I made out pretty well. I've always been motivated by money.

My career took a big step when I was 14. I painted a mural for a local church and the newspaper wanted to do a little story about me. When the reporter and photography came out they discovered all the different art I was doing. I guess they liked my work because The Evening Herald newspaper hired me to do court room sketches at a local trial. Through that opportunity my work appeared in the paper for a week or so and I got paid. Things snowballed from there. I wasn't just popular around school anymore I was known around town. It was great! I got freelance jobs for logos, card designs and more murals plus received scholarships to drawing and painting classes regularly.

Then I got my 'big break'! An exciting contract with an artist agent and a gallery out of Louisiana. They put me on a project to paint a series of oil paintings depicting the plight of the homeless in America. They paid me more money than I had ever made for my art and then reproduced my work into a limited edition poster series. Through this project I was flown to New Orleans and then out to LA to the annual LA Art Expo to show my work. Things became a bit surreal when the gallery put together a star studded Hollywood art opening for me featuring my homeless paintings. In attendance were several famous actors and actresses including Rip Torn and Carol Laurence. Also in attendance to keep me humble were several members of my family. I was 23 years old and on top of the world.

Thank God the regular freelance continued as the homeless project dissolved quietly from underneath me. I was never really informed of what actually did or didn't happen but the 'Big Bang' we had braced for never took place. I figured that for reasons I didn't have control over, the project had died! But if anybody won out it was me. I got paid to paint, travel and hang out with famous Hollywood stars plus met, for the first time in my adult life, my fathers family. I spent 4 more years in CT. building my career, doing my thing and exploring NYC.

I think so much of where we are going depends on where we have been. I'm using the wings of the past to fly into the future. Returning to Sarasota was absolutely positive for me in that I've become a part of a growing art community in a cultural meca. Here my relationship with the Ringling Art School has afforded me a degree of recognition and my reputation as a professional freelancer keeps me employed. So I still teach, draw at parties, produce art for advertisements, corporations and magazines. I also travel the world and paint landscapes that I sell through galleries. While any given day of the week I ride my bike, swim in the Gulf of Mexico, skate, read and work out. I attend the theatre and go to art openings. I relax on the beach take sunset cruises in the bay and every so often make time for higher education. I'm proud to be this age and still be in touch with the reasons I started in art. Of all the things I love I still savor creating my own original comics and therefore I stay actively involved with my other love, small press publishing. In other words I love life and thank God that mine has been and continues to be a surreal adventure worth all this typing.

Among other cities, Caractures by Michael White may serve the following areas: Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Sarasota, Bradenton, Clearwater, Brooksville, Lakeland, Largo, Venice, Lake Wales, Seminole, Orlando, Spring Hill, Winter Haven, Zephyrhills, New Port Richey, Plant City, Port Richey, Ruskin, Weeki Wachee, Braden River, Brandon, Davenport, Lutz, North Port, Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Carrollwood, Arcadia, Dade City, Florence Villa