Michael Chiago

...murals & watercolors.

Michael Chiago is one of a handful of Tohono O'odham artists to achieve national recognition. Twelve of his vibrant watercolors of traditional Native American life illustrate the 1998 children's book Sing Down the Rain, while his larger-than-life murals were commissioned for the buildings of the Catholic Diocese of Tucson and the ISDA offices in Ajo. Arizona Highways magazine has featured his depictions of Native American ceremonies, and the Anasazi Gallery in Flagstaff carries his original work.

Michael discovered his love for painting after a tour of duty as a US Marine in VietNam. He quit his day job doing layouts for an Arizona magazine to pursue painting full time. He calls himself a self-taught artist who has been painting non-stop for 35 years, and yet he still feels he doesn't have enough time for all the art he envisions.

More of his work can be seen by visiting:  www.phoenix.gov/arts/cp_17.html and www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/exhibits /avery