I interviewed this guy for one of my newspaper gigs, and it is truly amazing.

Every day, local “painter” Michael Collins sits down to work on his art. His most well-known work, a reproduction of the Monument to King Victor in Italy, took him 138 hours to complete. Equipped with a picture and his imagination, Collins lays out a basic sketch. He fills in colors and details. But he does not use oils, acrylics, or a canvas. Collins uses Microsoft Paint software.

“I’ve loved painting all my life,” said Collins, “I guess you could say I was born with a pencil in my hand doing artwork. Then I got a computer about 10 years ago, and I started playing around with the Microsoft Paint program that comes with it. I believe I have taken the program far beyond what it was intended to be capable of. We aren’t talking about photographs altered on the computer. These are all painted by hand using only the computer mouse and the tools supplied with Microsoft Paint. Basically it’s the medium I’ve preferred ever since, and to my knowledge I’m the only one who ever really tried to use it exclusively. Now with a little bit of practice, I can do pretty much any reproduction or painting.”

Collins, the nephew to Horsham artist Barbara Surick, is teaching a weekly class for the Hatboro Horsham Evening School Program at Keith Valley Middle School , starting February 15. “I have what I guess you could say is a genetic predisposition – on my father’s side of the family – toward painting and art,” said Collins. “I’m really excited about teaching this class. I want to teach the people how to be their own ‘Digital DaVinci’.”

Now a member of the Doylestown Art League and featured at the Woodmere Art Museum and Cheltenham Art Center, Collins recalls what he calls his difficult road to recognition. “I used to be a sales manager for Fred Beans Cadillac, but I was sick of the same old thing. I decided I wanted to do something different.”

According to Collins, “I’ve had trouble getting recognition for my artwork and for the medium in general. People are amazed at the work, but they are instantly turned off when they hear I did it on the computer. I guess part of the problem is that I’m on the cutting edge. A lot of people still just aren’t able to believe that I did all this with a mouse. Only now, the feedback has been great.”

For more information on the Hatboro Horsham Evening School Program at Keith Valley Middle School – or for information on Course #16: “Learn How to Draw & Paint on a Computer” — contact Program Director Mary Ellen Huie at (215) 646-1768.