Cowboys, Robots, and Smart Ass Folk Art: Michael Coulter

Today's meal was with Smart Ass Folk Artist, Michael Coulter! We talked about art, video, and common friends at Fiesta Cafe on First Street. Our friend orbits have been circling for years, but I don't think I have ever had a real conversation with Coulter until today. I've known who he is, and I think he has known who I am for many years. We both have a lot of friends in common, and we have both done video and TV work. So, it was great to get a chance to talk with him today.

Let's start off with the food. Coulter chose Fiesta Cafe. I used to go there a lot back in the day, and by day, I mean probably the 90's. Loved it back then, but I haven't been there since I moved back into town in 2019. Other than changing the outside color from yellow to pink, there weren't a ton of changes. Food and service were still good; reasonable prices and solid portions.

It must have been a month or so ago when I was out with my friend Troy that we set out to see an art exhibit at the gallery side of Plant Mode. Coulter was displaying some of his art along with Derek Niedringhaus. Troy is also a painter and wanted to see Coulter's work in person, and I was tagging along because I had never seen his paintings and was curious about his work.

Going to go off on a side tangent for a little bit. I call him Coulter because that is all I have heard him called by in the years I have been aquatinted with him. I guess I should have asked if he preferred that to Mike of Michael or something else, but it never came up in the conversation. So, I am just going to stick with it, and he can correct me in the comments if he would prefer something else. <<

OK, back to the story. Coulter calls his work Smart Ass Folk Art, and that description makes a lot of sense to me after seeing it. You can look at it for yourself on his Instagram page www.instagram.com/coulterwhatever ). His paintings seem very Midwestern but have a slight edge to them if you study them a little deeper. They all seem to have a story behind them, and he said that one of his first shows at Loose Cobra down in Tolono, had, not only the paintings, but also stories to go along with each of them. While those paintings are from early on in his painting career, he still uses a story aspect in his current work. You can see the paintings and read the stories from that show on his website www.cowboysandrobots.com/cobra-show The fictional location and characters pulled me into the work. I took a deeper dive when I got back home after lunch and have to say I love it.

Coulter is self-taught and has only been painting for a few years. But you can tell he is dedicated by the advances in his style in that short amount of time. He says he paints five days a week and keeps at it. He says he is happy with about a third of what he creates, but with the quantity of pieces he creates that is still a lot. He did say that as he has gotten better, he has started to do larger work and spend more time on each piece, so he isn't producing as much as he was, but I think the quality to quantity balance is paying off.

When I asked him why he go into painting, he said that he had been writing for a long time but was getting tired of it and wanted to do something new. And now that he is retired, he has more time to explore his work. Good thing is he now has a good retirement income so he can pursue his art without having to worry about making a living at it. But that is not to say his work does not sell. He has made numerous sales locally and across the country. Both his original artwork and his prints have been popular for people looking for something different.

He thanks Derek for getting him started and encouraging him in his work. The two of them are very different in their styles, but it was great to see both of them at a show together. It is always good to have someone encouraging who you can talk to about your art. And Coulter seems to be paying that encouragement forward when he talks about others who are getting started. He is very impressed with Troy's work, and who knows, maybe they will have a show together at some point.

Before painting, Coulter worked in video. He worked at WICD back when it was an NBC affiliate. I remember working there at the time that is changes from NBC to ABC. He also worked for years at WCIA before getting a video production job at Parkland College. I got my start in video production out there, so I always have a fond place in my heart for the classes and studio there. While video work was fine, I think art is more of a passion now. I am glad that he found something that he loves to do.

We also talked about old friends, his bartending days, and the neighborhood we both used to live in (North of Westside Park). I won't list all of the friends we have in common, but hopefully their names will appear in one of these It's My Treat post in the future. I was reminded of a lot of people who I need to reach out to to invite for a meal.

So, thank you, Coulter. It was great to have a real conversation with you and get to know you a little better. Hope we are able to meet up again soon.