Michael Doig

 Michael Doig grew up along the Tygart River just outside of Elkins, WV. His paintings are inspired by a childhood spent exploring life in and along the river. He uses imagery evocative of life in a small town, interspersed with surprising colors and drips of paint that obscure parts of the picture plain, conjuring thoughts of memory, erosion and deep, geological history.

 Michael studied art at the Columbus College of Art and Design and Savannah College of Art and Design before ultimately returning to West Virginia where he graduated with a BFA from WVU. He continued his artistic exploration of Appalachian life while studying at the University at Buffalo where he graduated with an MFA in 2002. After spending time living in the Pacific Northwest, he eventually returned to his hometown where he established an innovative Art program at Davis & Elkins College, and where he served as Associate Professor of Art, and Chair of the Division of Creative Arts, until 2019, when he suffered from an aortic dissection. The doctors at Davis Memorial Hospital were able to correctly identify his condition and were able to life flight him to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, in time for an emergency surgery. Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke on the operating table, and his surgeons then had to perform a craniectomy, which removed a portion of his skull, which alleviated the pressure from the swelling in his brain. Over the next 5-6 years, he partook in physical therapy to help him to recover movement in his previously dominant left side through practice and patience and with collaboration with friends and colleagues, he has been able to paint with his right hand.

His work can be seen throughout West Virginia and in many private collections.