Michael grew up in Granville, OH, where he is a 7th-generation resident of the small village. As a young creative he was fortunate to be surrounded by a talented group of artists who encouraged him to pursue his passion. His grandmother, Mary Sherwood Wright Jones, was particularly inspiring. She was an accomplished children’s illustrator for My Weekly Reader, and her work served as a constant source of motivation for Michael. She attended the Art Students League in NYC in 1913, which was a critical moment in the history of American art due to the groundbreaking Armory Show.

In addition to his grandmother, he was exposed to other artists from the community who were pushing boundaries. Among them were Clarence Hudson White, a pioneer in pictorialism photography, and talented local female artists Elsie Dorey and Helen Warner. Michael's childhood experiences have greatly influenced his current work, particularly in overcoming learning obstacles and carrying on his family’s passion for history and tradition. The significance of treasured family objects and places on a personal level is also a major factor in his work.

Throughout his academic pursuits, he delved into the realm of fine arts and design while also exploring the fields of decorative arts and architecture in London, England. Since then, his professional endeavors have successfully revolved around product development and marketing within the home décor industry.

Michael's appreciation for decorative arts and the importance of objects has led him to develop a fascination for antique frames. Additionally, he is intrigued by the abstract and expressionism that characterized modernism that was introduced to America with the 1913 Armory Show. This particular moment in American art history captivates him as it heralded a new form of painting that challenged realism. His current collection of paintings is mainly influenced by White’s photograph Drops of Rain, John Singer Sargent’s expressive brushstrokes, the early female American abstract painters, and how he perceived text on paper as a young reader with learning challenges. In his work, Michael aims to incorporate the idea of hidden messages through the use of layers of abstraction.