Growing up in a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, Michael was encouraged early on by his mother who while not an artist in traditional media, was always producing creative and imaginative projects that both inspired and motivated Michael to create art of his own.
After high school, Michael attended The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Soon frustrated by traditional media and the school's emphasis on non-objective art, Michael became enamored with computer animation and two years later, traded his pencil for a mouse and headed west to continue his education at the small, more specialized Cogswell Polytechnical College in Silicon Valley.
In 2001, Michael relocated to Southern California and began private study with a local Southern California artist.
Michael continues to pursue painting and drawing out of his home in Lake Forest, California where he lives with his wife and their 4 cats.