Michael Obermeyer

biography 1 of 5

The problem with moonlighting when you're a plein air painter is that you need sunlight. Plein air, after all, is about capturing the light outdoors on canvas. Working days indoors as an illustrator and feeling the conflicting desire to spend more time outdoors painting. Michael Obermeyer, buoyed by several affirming nods from the art community, made the break last December to do oil painting fulltime.

Today, the 40-year-old Aliso Viejo resident is one of the area's fastest rising artist. This year, he took first place in the Carmel Plein Air Painting Competition, and the La Quinta Arts Foundation chose his work for its Impressionaire 2000 poster. A second-time exhibitor at the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts, Obermeyer was recently honored when the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association invited him to join their ranks as a signature member.