'Beyond what we can perceive'...An interview with: Micah Ofstedahl
4d
6 min read
In discussion with Oregon based surrealist painter @micahofstedahl
"Micah is an artist who reimagines the natural world as a space where perception bends and reality fractures. Now based in Oregon, he explores what he calls “altered realism,” where hyper-realistic landscapes are disrupted by unseen forces—patterns and distortions that ripple through the familiar, revealing hidden structures beneath the surface of reality. His work invites viewers to question what is tangible and what exists just beyond our perception. This evolution follows a decade-long exploration of “biological surrealism,” influenced by anatomical forms and the intricate 19th-century illustrations of Ernst Haeckel." - www.micahofstedahl.com
Read on below for the full interview...
Firstly how are you and how is life?
Honestly, it's been a bit of a tough year so far in some ways, but some good too. Such is life. As far as the art goes, I had been really pushing myself to try new things, or come up with the best new bright idea. Easier said than done. I have been doing "altered realism" for seven years now, so maybe it's a seven-year-itch thing. There's a line between being open to new ideas and putting too much pressure on yourself to come up with something new and amazing. Either way, I just have to keep sketching and painting and see what comes up.
What was it like growing up in Minnesota and what are some of the differences between Oregon where you are currently based?
Growing up in Minnesota was good. I grew up in a town of about 20,000 people - similar to the town I am in now - so it's pretty mellow which I like. I spent a lot of my time playing guitar, eventually in a band, and making art. I had some good art teachers in high school which helped inspire me to pursue it further. I also earned a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Mankato, Minnesota where I mainly focused on sculpture and ceramics. It's hard to say how much, or in what ways that area influenced my work. I didn't do much hiking until I was in college as that town offered more in that department. So, during that time I started to form a closer connection to nature. With some of my sculptures I was incorporating found pieces of wood with plaster. Here in Oregon, as well as Santa Cruz, CA, where I lived for five years, there are tons of hiking trails and a good variety of landscapes. I had been painting what I called "surreal biological landscapes" since 2009, but I think eventually I just had to incorporate these landscapes more directly into my paintings.
What inspires you to explore the concept of 'altered realism'?
In some ways I am still figuring that out. When I look back to all of my work, I've never really gone into it with a concept and asked myself, "how am I going to represent this concept?" I have always just created what comes to me and then I try to see where it came from or what it might represent. The first "altered realism" painting I did happened out of a lack of details of a sketch I had, particularly for the background. I decided to use a photo of mine as a reference and ended up painting the landscape background realistically, which I had never done before...
...In the foreground were some pitcher plants, vines and flowers. I decided to paint the pitchers as if they were clear and that opened me up to my current style. Since then I have continued to use biological forms and patterns in nature as inspiration for the "clear" parts as well as just coming up with my own ideas. Since doing it, I believe I am representing the observable natural world, clearly with the landscapes, and the unknown or imperceptible parts of life with the clear distortions. This could be spiritual, or a representation of energy, life source, the fabric of the universe, or simply the feeling you might get when soaking up a beautiful scene.
Please could you tell us about the process of creating a new work of art and what emotions arise?
I start with going on hikes and getting some photos. I have some folders with tons of photos for potential painting references. I go through those and whatever pops out at me at the time, I will try to sketch some ideas for the altered part. Sometimes that's on paper, but more recently I have been sketching on Procreate on an Ipad. It's very helpful to try multiple ideas and to change or perfect those ideas. It also makes those ideas easier to visualize since I can draw directly on top of the photo I will be painting from. Once I'm painting, I begin with roughing in the landscape, then sketching in the "clear" part, then finishing the details of the landscape, and finally doing the clear distortions. During the painting process, I mostly just space out and let the mind wander. I usually listen to music so I am feeling that and hopefully feeling good about where the painting is going. Sometimes I listen to podcasts which can be good to have that to focus on. I would say I'm usually in a semi-trance state most of the time while painting but I don't know if I've ever had an experience that felt fully transcendental.
Have you ever witnessed or perceived any of the invisible forces you portray within your paintings or are they products of your consciousness; do you believe that nature is conscious, and has it ever spoken to you?
I have not literally "seen" any of these invisible forces that I paint. They are more directly inspired by nature or come from me somewhere creatively, which in most cases are still probably inspired by nature. I believe nature is conscious in a way, but not in the way that we are conscious. Of course, we are part of nature, and we are conscious, as are other animals and insects, although probably conscious in a different way than we are. If we are talking about other living things like plants, I think they are also conscious in a way, but further removed from the way that we are. So, it partially depends on how we define consciousness. If it means "being aware", then we are aware of our surroundings through our senses and our interpretation of those, and we can think about it and talk about it in our language. Plants are aware of their surroundings through a different set of senses and signals, and it is shown that they communicate in some form. Is the world, or universe as a whole, conscious? I have no fucking idea but it is pretty amazing how it has all come together.
What fills you with the most joy and happiness in relation to your work and also life outside of art?
When someone truly gets my art, or more importantly gets something from my art. When someone can tell me how my work made them feel and they can put it into words better than I can or maybe they even teach me something about it. Sometimes this comes with a sale, which is the ultimate compliment that someone connects with it enough to pay you for it and hang it on their wall. And it feels good to know you can buy some more groceries! Outside of art, it is being in nature, listening to music, seeing live music, (hopefully someday it will be playing music again) and seeing a good friend or family
What does spirituality mean to you?
I think I'm still trying to figure out what it means to me specifically, but in general, I think it mostly means connecting with or recognizing that there is something beyond what we can perceive, a purpose to all this madness, maybe a life beyond this one, at least seeing beyond yourself, and beyond humanity, and seeing that everything in this universe is a connected soup of particles and energy floating in space.
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Discover more of Micah Ofstedahl via:
- Astral Magazine
