Michael Wilkinson's early training was a unique preparation for his art. While serving in the Air Force as an illustrator, he was posted in Japan, where he studied Japanese art and architecture. The harmony and simple elegance of the Japanese aesthetic made an impression on the young artist and he worked to integrate its principles into his thinking. The influence of classical western art was strengthened when, in 1978, he traveled to Europe. There he studied the great works of the ancient Greeks and Michelangelo.

The result of these disparate influences is a synthesis of the strong classical heritage of the West and the refined simplicity of the East, evident in all of Wilkinson's work. Upon his return ...