Michael Jon Dvortcsak

I had thoughts of Mickey this morning and was reaching out to make contact with him after not seeing him for many years. My daughter is interested in art and I thought to myself, what better way to see an artist at work and meet a "real" artist than going to Mickey's studio in Ojai. I am a bit shocked. I was a older but budding artist in Santa Barbara in the 70's and 80's when i met Mickey went to many of his openings. A gentle humorous soul who I always held in the highest regard. My...

I know its late, but I live in South Carolina and I just found out about Mickeys passing. He was my MFA Graduate committee chairman and had an indelible impact on my career as an artist and 36 years as a Professor the University Of South Carolina. One of his paintings, a wedding gift, hangs prominently in our living room.

Through Howard Warshaw and Rico Lebrun, Mickey was connected to a grand approach in art from the Renaissance to the deconstructionist cubist ideas. Both Lebrun and Warshaw abstracted the figures and composition by use of transparencies and multiple views to form their figures. Almost akin to Bacon, DeKooning and Picasso. Both artist did not use the comic humor point of views of Picasso and Dekooning, but rather kept it closely align to a re investment of the Renaissance with the modern...

a friend, a teacher of figure drawing extrodinaire, and colleague as a painter, helped me have a gallery in Los Angeles in 1980, Kirk De Gooyer, introduced me to Marsea Goldberg and spoke at our wedding.......his drawings in the tradition of Howard Warshaw who taught both of us are probably the greatest of Howard's students....he lived Howard's legacy and never waivered.......an inspiration of the great tradition of drawing and painting

i just rec'd an email from Mick's longtime friend Tony Cohan alerting me to this sad news...My condolences to Mickey's children and grandkids (he was such a kid at heart).. i have so many sweet memories of our friendship which launched in the 1980s - when introduced by John Widmer.. I have a big heart that Mickey painted for a CAF show that he gave me and have been carrying it around a lot lately - - so i guess you could say i've been holding Mickey's heart in my hands.. very sad news.. but...

My Pops was the most creative and introspective man. Whenever you were around him you were inspired towards some creative greatness....cooking, art, music, just basic human goodness. I will miss you Pops. Your art is on every wall of my home and your care and acceptance lines my heart. Miss you already.