Mike Kuchar. Drawings by Mike!

About

Mike Kuchar, recipient of the United States Artist award in 1993, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017, was born in 1942. His teachers in public school recognized his ability to draw and suggested he attend a high school geared for commercial art because, “fine artists starve!”

After graduating from the School of Art and Design in Manhattan, he worked as a ‘retoucher,’ retouching ‘high fashion’ photos for Harpers Bazaar , Vogue  and the New York Times  fashion magazine while producing his own, low budget 16 mm movies at home, –This swept him into the ‘underground movie’ scene of the 1960s. Later, he moved to California where the ‘underground comics’ movement was in full swing. Mike painted the cover and illustrated three stories for a comic book titled ‘Gay Heart Throbs.’ Editors for other publications saw his work and asked him to contribute to their magazines…And so; Mike got back into drawing pictures! –He still makes movies, but likes to create with pen and brush too, hence; this ‘exhibit’ of original drawings from his private collection that have never been published. [Mike Kuchar]