In 2009, during travels in the wilderness of Colorado, Mr. Shipman began his plans for an exhibition of landscapes that would present the gold of his previous work in the setting of nature.  The paintings in The Gold and the Gold Rush in the American West draw on scenes from the artist's home state of Arizona and from his travels through mountains, canyons, deserts, forests, and plains of the American west.  While the gold rush of the western pioneers is long past, the gold rush depicted in this exhibit continues.   In these paintings, we find a new richness and variety of color, due to the artist's new techniques in mixing his own paints and varnishes from raw pigments, oils, and other elements.

Michael Shipman with six bull moose at Cameron Pass, Colorado (2011)

From The Gold in the Modern-Day Spirit of Old