Michael Swanson and his family immigrated to Canada from Europe in the mid 1950s, forming roots in Southern Ontario. He has traveled extensively in North America, having worked in both the United States and western Canada. Swanson now lives in Ontario with his wife, Brenda, and their two daughters.

“To me, art has been a fact of life,” Swanson says. “I have earned my income from art and only art for the past 25 years.” Swanson has been an illustrator, an art director and an art teacher. He has won a number of international awards for his artwork. He is a member of the American Society of Aviation Artists and the Society of Illustrators. He takes pride in the quality of his work and constantly strives to perfect his style and his technique. Swanson’s landscape, portrait, wildlife and aviation art is known throughout Canada and the United States and is included in several private and corporate collections.

Most of Swanson’s aviation subjects require in-depth research for accuracy. Swanson believes one cannot experience the process and ambiance of the impressionistic masters, for example, without seeing what and where they painted. Swanson’s dedication to his art is brought to all his work. “The style in which I create my subjects has changed from time to time, as have the subjects themselves. Life is full of interesting things to paint, and, as long as I am able, I will continue to search for that illusive ‘perfect picture.'”