September, 2026 CAVARTS Spotlight Feature #1: Michael Rogan
This month, we’re honored to feature USMC Veteran and accomplished artist Michael Rogan. After serving in Vietnam and building a successful career as a graphic designer, illustrator, and art director, Michael found a new creative path through fine art. Today, his plein air paintings celebrate the healing power of nature, capturing the color, rhythm, and beauty he discovers in the world around him.
His featured piece, Almaden Autumn, reflects that connection to nature and his belief that art can both express something deeply personal and communicate that feeling to others. Through his work, Michael invites us to slow down, look closely, and find our own sense of peace and beauty in the landscape.
Name:
Michael Rogan
Branch of service:
USMC
About:
Michael O. Rogan graduated with a BFA from Brigham Young University after service in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. Though partially disabled from his war service, Michael worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for twenty years. He became a magazine art director and an airbrush illustrator winning several national and regional awards. His disability forced him to leave his career in the late nineties and he began to study and practice Fine Art. Focusing on drawing and painting with an emphasis in water media, Michael has won national art awards through the Veterans Administration and many regional honors and awards including first place in the SCVWS 2014 show. Michaels’ paintings are widely sold at Gallery 24, Los Gatos, and through artlifting.com. For more information, contact michaelrogan@comcast.net.
Artist Moniker:
Rogan
Social Media:
FB - Michael Rogan
IG - roganmichaelo
Title of Piece:
Almaden Autumn
Medium of Piece:
Oil on Linnen
Meaning Behind Piece:
I wanted to capture and share the treasure of color, shape and form that exists a short walk from where I live in California. The Cherokee are credited with a saying, "A man's heart, to long from nature, grows cold.” Just trying to share some of that heat.
Piece:
What inspires you to create art?:
I have chosen to paint in plein air because nothing heals me like nature. I see colors I would not think of. I find rhythms and patterns that only reveal themselves in drawing them. I want to create a space where the viewer can share in this interpretation and find similar feelings of peace and beauty.
What part of your life has benefited the most from your creative pursuits?:
I can't think of a single area where art has not benefited me. I am healthier because I want to be able to go out and paint while in my senior years. I am more aware and mindful. I am able to stay positive and hopeful about each day.
Is it important for you to challenge yourself in your art? Tell us why or why not!:
It is part of the desire to create art, to grow. I challenge myself in each piece to look at areas in past paintings where I can improve. I usually keep it specific like high key colors for one piece. In another, I know that edge quality is very important so I focus on that. I try to stick to the principles in art that have been handed down through great teachers like Edgar Payne and Ben Shawn and many others.
What is your process or ritual to get your creativity flowing?:
Creativity for me is less about coming up with great ideas as being observant in my life. I guess I'm more of a hunter than a dreamer in that respect.
What does CAVARTS mean to you?:
It has been a supportive platform. It is good to hear others' questions and comments about my work.
Our monthly theme is Inspired by Nature, but Michael submitted this when we were celebrating Change. Here’s what he had planned:
Getting out on the road and seeing the ocean.
What words of inspiration do you have for your fellow CAVARTists?:
An artist has two responsibilities. The first is to express yourself. The other is to communicate.
