Michi Yamaguchi was born in New York City.  As a child he liked drawing castles and cathedrals with his crayons on family vacations.  Living in the very grey-toned city of Tokyo during his junior high school years, he decided to become an architect so he could make cities more beautiful.  This led him to a long career as an architect in several US cities as well as Tokyo.  Leaving full-time architecture in 2003, he decided to pursue his dream of painting as a career.  He currently lives and paints in Staten Island, NY.

Michi chooses cityscapes, still lifes, portraits and the human figure for his subject.  His architectural eye informs his composition, use of line and color.  He prefers acrylic paint because of its saturated vibrant color which is conducive for the sometimes pop-like nature of his works.  Although he mostly works on canvas and paper, he is beginning to explore other surfaces on which to paint.

Michi’s paintings have been selected for the Newhouse Contemporary Art Gallery’s HugeUnHuge exhibit and Staten Island Museum’s Juried Art Show 2009 as well as Seeing Green in 2008.  He has participated in the Fence Show at Snug Harbor as well as Staten Island Creative Community’s Art By The Ferry.