Mike Coleman

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Michael Coleman has studied and created art his entire life. He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Louisiana Tech University in 1985 and worked for many years as an illustrator and graphic designer while working nights and weekends to develop a personal style of painting.

Michael moved to New Mexico in the mid 90s to expand his artistic options and started working for a local art company, Opp Art Inc., in Albuquerque. He worked on many projects creating murals, 3-dimensional art, graphics, interior & exterior faux finishes, signage, and carpentry for commercial clients nationwide in the restaurant and casino industries, including the Paris Casino in Las Vegas, Hollywood Casinos in Chicago, Shreveport and Memphis and an interesting 2-year project for the Imus Ranch for Kids with Cancer near Ribera, New Mexico.

Michael Coleman began his art education career teaching basic drawing, computer graphics and commercial illustration part-time for a private commercial art college in the late 90s. In 2002 he started teaching high school Fine Art, fundamentals of art, drawing, painting, ceramics, pottery, jewelry, sculpture, AP portfolio and fine art matting and framing at Bernalillo High School, in Bernalillo, New Mexico. In 2005 he received a Masters of Art in Education degree from the College of Santa Fe. He also taught art education and art history as an Associate Instructor at the University of Phoenix, and other area Albuquerque community colleges. In 2012 he started teaching high school Fine Art for the Dulce Independent School District and living on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in northern New Mexico. Michael moved his family back to the Kansas City area in 2016 and finished his Art education career at a charter high school, the Guadalupe Centers Charter High School (formerly Alta Vista Charter High School), specializing in drawing, painting and murals.