1963 –
Mike Barlow was born in Gillette, Wyoming the son of a well respected landscape painter. He grew up in The Bighorn Mountains often meeting around his parent’s kitchen table other artists such as Hollis Williford, Ned Jacob, George Carlson and Clyde Aspevig. He spent his summers hiking and fishing in Wyoming and in the fall hunted on the family’s ranch. As a young child he began modeling the animals that he saw using clay.
Mike’s appreciation for wildlife fostered dreams of travel to see the animals for himself. This dream was realized with his first trip to Africa at 10 years old, when he and his family visited Kenya for a month. He has spend a good deal of his life travelling the world to see more of God’s creation, Mike is fascinated by wildlife, culture and art.
Mike Barlow completed his education at the University of Wyoming, and began his formal artistic career as a wildlife photographer from 1989 through 2000 when he switched mediums and returned to his root of sculpture which is where we find him today. He has a passion of anatomical correctness that captures the essence of his subjects. Mike specializes in telling the captivating and potent stories of the spirit of wildlife using a classical context.
Mike Barlow’s studio is in Paradise Valley, Montana where he enjoys the outdoor lifestyle the area is famous for, fishing, hunting, and rafting, and family life.