I often think about the Presidents. The question is how would their presidential years look like in a cartoon. History is measured and remembered by the various movements and events that happened during certain time periods in the past. When you think of President Nixon you might think of "Watergate" maybe with Nixon doing a cannonball off a diving board with some cocktail waitresses holding trays of martinis and Vietcong hiding in the bushes nearby the Watergate Hotel. This is the process that happens when I begin to think about a president and their triumphs, short comings, or eventual downfall. Jimmy Carter sitting on his Georgia plantation porch with Bob Dylan, or Bill Clinton on an inter-tube with the bridge to the 21st century being shot at by a pirate ship the SS GOP. Ronald Reagan standing in the desert with dinosaurs and Nancy with her patent red dress smiling and oblivious to the world problems and environment behind them. I love the history, the old cartoons especially from the late 1800's and early twentieth century. I love the challenge and freedom of painting a "cartoon" of what the president might be remembered for many years from now.

This fall I had a chance to show some of my art at the West End Bakery in West Asheville.  This seemed like a perfect opportunity to paint the the last three Presidents. I started four oils in August and spent every extra ounce of free energy working in my studio below my house painting.  There were batik landscapes, presidential portraits and new kid portraits of Halsey and Zada.  It was alot of work but the process is rewarding and seeing all the paintings together with some ceramic facejugs displayed in a public setting is the reward.

The day finally came for the hanging. We got there and didn't have a ladder or a hammer and not a lot of time...but we got the batiks up and 2 presidential portraits....But we regrouped and a week later went back in with a ladder and hung everything else...the work will be up till December so head on over grab a cinnamon roll and coffee and ponder the art.

Congo's West End Bakery Show

Mike “Congo” Congleton is a professional artist and art instructor. One of his favorite mediums is batik, which he learned from African artist Olabayo Olanini. Working with a handmade brush, Congo paints with dye between layers of wax on linen fabric. “The batik process is challenging because of the importance of working in layers,” says Congo, “but the resulting vibrance of color is rewarding.”

Many of Congo’s paintings are reminiscent of the years he spent teaching and sailing in the Caribbean. Though his color palette has changed since moving to the mountains of Western North Carolina, he continues a personal quest to capture the spirit and light in nature.  At his studio in West Asheville, Congo works with batik, watercolor, acrylic and oil paint on canvas.

The Portraits

Painting portraits is like writing a novel.  There is a beginning, the adventure, a part when you think all is lost, and the moment when it all comes together.  Painting portraits truly feels like magic as the energy and spirit of the person begins to appear. There are so many great parts to a portrait and that is why I like to paint starting out with a grid.  The paintings start out grid by grid, but don’t always stay inside the grid and often paintings begin to take a life of their own as they evolve and capture the uniqueness of the person’s personality

The Presidents

Congo was influenced by his Dad,  Jake Congleton who was a history teacher at Groton School in Groton Massachusetts. One of his favorite things to do as a kid was to go to the School House where history came alive. In the School House there is a hall of presidential portraits and personal letters from every president to the School dating back to George Washington. “I love the history of each of those letters and love the challenge of capturing a presidents term in one painting.  Almost like one of those old political cartoons.” Says Congo about painting Presidents

As a middle school art teacher at Carolina Day School, Congo also works with ceramics, environmental sculpture, and photography. He earned a BFA from the University of Massachusetts, and has studied oil painting with Eric Winter in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Congo shares his mountain home with his wife, two children, and Bandit the Dog.

For commissions, larger pieces or just hanging out on the porch come visit the studio in West Asheville. Contact Michael T. Congleton at 828-273-2974.