Michael Trcic
Michael’s current work celebrates our Western heritage, which is rich with colorful characters and men and women of great fortitude. Michael’s bronzes depict the courage and rugged individualism of the American West. He recently added oil painting to his repertoire- something he’s wanted to explore for a long time and hopes to do more of! https://www.mountaintrailssedona.com/michael-trcic-paintings
In addition to his Western Sculpture, Michael is considered one of the nation’s leading Paleo-Artists and his life restorations of dinosaurs have been a part of private collections worldwide. He has been commissioned to recreate these incredible animals by the Discovery Channel, IMAX, The University of Chicago, The National Geographic Society, and Disney. His life size bronze “Dilophosaurus,” (a dinosaur from Arizona’s early Jurassic), welcomes visitors to the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa, Arizona.
Michael attended Point Park College in Pittsburgh, PA where he was born. With his sights on a degree in Filmmaking, Michael quickly became known in the Pittsburgh film community for his ability to sculpt, paint and create various special makeup effects for both student and teacher films. After working on several movies in Pittsburgh with filmmaking icons Tom Savini and George Romero, Michael and his wife Christine made the move to Los Angeles. He created special effects for numerous films and his work has won Oscars twice for “Jurassic Park” and “Terminator 2” respectively.
Michael has lived in Sedona, Arizona for the past 30 years where the joys of his life have been his lovely wife Christine and his two beautiful (now all grown up!) children, Colton and Collier. When he is not in the studio, he enjoys target shooting with his family at one of Sedona’s outdoor shooting ranges.
Artist Statement
I sculpt because I have a need in my soul to create art; it’s in my blood. As a self-taught artist with no formal training, I have been involved in art for as long as I can remember. I began drawing at an early age and before I was ten years old, I was driven to create artwork in three dimensions using clay. My desire was to be an artist when I “grew up”. I still continue that journey and each day brings exciting new ideas to explore.
In choosing subject matter for my work I look for themes that express my love of liberty, courage, faith and rugged independence. I create compositions with a sense of motion and balance and a strong focal point that draws the viewer in. I know when a sculpture is going well because I lose all concept of time and merely become an instrument in the creation of the piece. When people view my work I want them to be inspired and reminded that we are all endowed by our Creator with the capability of greatness. – Michael Trcic