Behind The Artist: Michael Kent Lynberg
Discover remarkable Central Californian coasts and go behind the scenes with artist and photographer Michael Kent Lynberg to explore his tranquil prints.
What is your background in art? How did you get started?
Michael Kent Lynberg and his wife Elizabeth fell in love with Carmel and the surrounding area on the Central Coast of California while taking a vacation there in May 1999. Five months later, with their 18-month-old son in tow, they moved there from Boston.
Michael was working as a writer at the time. He had written several published books and also did freelance speechwriting for CEOs and other executives. When not writing, he loved the outdoors, and once they were living in the Carmel area, he started to spend time at the end of many days hiking and exploring the coast, from Pebble Beach to Big Sur.
Surrounded by the astonishing beauty of the area, he soon started to take a camera with him on his treks. For him, it was a great way to unwind from his life as a writer, and to exercise different parts of his brain. Michael explains, “Winston Churchill once said that ‘a change of work is as good as rest,’ and for me that was true.”
Over time, he had taken tens of thousands of photos. “I explored every inch of the rugged coastline that I could access, sometimes taking more physical risks than I probably should have taken. But as a photographer, you’re always looking for that special location and a special moment. It’s part of the adventure. And in photography, where you’re standing—your perspective—is very important.”
What trends influence or inspire your artistic journey?
Meanwhile, Michael’s writing career led him to take a position with ROI Communication, Inc., a consultancy firm that had accounts at many leading Silicon Valley companies. As part of ROI, he was deployed as a writer at Adobe, the maker of Photoshop and other powerful software products.
While at Adobe, Michael was privileged to write stories about new versions of Photoshop and new tools that the company’s software engineers and computer scientists created for the application, including in one case, new virtual bristle brushes that artists could use to create effects that looked a lot like oil paintings.
He also learned how concept artists and matte painters use Adobe Photoshop to create composites from photos and other visual elements, and then use brushes in Photoshop to transform those composites into digital paintings.
On one occasion, he had the amazing opportunity to interview a movie industry legend, Rick Baker, who had won seven Academy Awards for his special effects costume design for movies such as Star Wars, Men in Black and Planet of the Apes. He had also created the designs, costumes and masking for Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.
“We spoke by phone and then Baker sent me an image he created for his concept art for the latex masking and hair of an actor in one of the Planet of the Apes films. The man’s face was transformed, and the concept art looked like a spectacular oil painting—a masterpiece. I was astounded—and hooked.”
Adobe had given Michael a version of the Creative Suite, including Photoshop, which he used for basic photo editing. But he had not yet started using filters and brushes for digital painting. “Starting out, it was still very difficult, and my early work, to be generous, was awful,” he said.
Michael also bought Corel Painter and started to learn that application, too, moving back and forth between it and Photoshop. “Corel Painter was challenging, too,” he said. “They’re both great. They both take time and effort to learn.”
Michael persisted and, in time, had a small body of work, mostly seascapes of Big Sur and other beautiful coastal areas, and landscapes of Yosemite National Park, which was just a few hours away. He began with the best of his photos and then transformed them into digital paintings. “I loved the medium,” he said, “because even if you and I start with very similar photos, we will use different brushes, brush sizes and textures, and artistic styles, making our works unique.”
What was the moment you knew art would be your career - not just a passion project?
At this point in the story, Michael was still a hobbyist, although who wouldn’t walk around Carmel-by-the-Sea and dream have having artwork displayed in one of the town’s many art galleries?
The turning point came when Michael and his wife donated a digital painting he had created of the Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach to a charity auction that was holding a fundraising banquet. One of the board members of the nonprofit, who had known and worked with the famous artist Thomas Kinkade, accepted the donation, saying that he thought it would garner some bids at live auction.
Michael wasn’t so sure. He and Elizabeth went to the event, and he recalls being so nervous his hands were sweating when his work was next in line for the live auction. “If no one bids on it, should we bid on it ourselves?” he whispered to his wife. He didn’t want to his artwork to be the only item left on the floor at the end of the night.
Fortunately, he and Elizabeth did not need to bid. As someone carried his artwork around the dining room, people at different tables started to bid on it. The price continued to go up, until bidders at two tables remained, and the piece sold for much more than Michael ever expected to a couple in the front row.
After the auction, the man who had worked with Thomas Kinkade said that he hoped Michael saw that there was a market for his work. That’s when he and Elizabeth thought more about trying to find a place in a Carmel art gallery, or perhaps even looking for a retail site of their own.
About two years later, after donating pieces to subsequent charity auctions, Michael and Elizabeth opened Gallery-by-the-Sea Carmel in a building that had been owned by Clint Eastwood. Fast forward several years, and Gallery-by-the-Sea Carmel became one of the highest rated galleries in Carmel by visitors who left reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp. Elizabeth managed the gallery Monday-Friday while Michael, who continued to work as a writer, was there on weekends.
“I like to say that Elizabeth was the whole C-Suite – CEO, CFO, CMO, CIO, etc. – and I was the artist she had to put up with,” jokes Michael.
In 2019, Michael and Elizabeth attended Art Expo Las Vegas, where they met an executive from Great Big Canvas. They kept in touch, and now Michael has developed a large body of works of art for that wildly popular online art marketplace.
“We still offer limited editions through Gallery-by-the-Sea Carmel,” said Michael, and then we offer the open editions through Great Big Canvas.”
How do you know when a piece is 'ready' to share?
Michael loves photography and digital painting as much as ever. Years ago, when transforming a photo into a digital painting, each piece was a struggle because he really wasn’t sure what to do. But now he knows that first 20-30 actions he will take to get started, and makes adjustments along the way.
“It’s still a process,” he says, “and at times it remains difficult, especially when trying to get the ideal lighting, textures and tones, which can take a lot of trial and error.”
Michael notes that Academy Award winner Rick Baker called his Photoshop work “no-fear painting” because he could create many different layers and versions and make each one slightly different and unique.
“It’s the same for me and other digital artists,” Michael says. “You don’t need to start all over from scratch if something like your lighting isn’t right. You can create a new layer and try something new, and you keep on doing that until you feel like the artwork represents your best.”
Looking for more? Check out more work from Michael Lynberg Here
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