Michael Sampson Sweeney passed away peacefully on July 26, 2020 at the age of 73, surrounded by family and friends. He will be deeply missed by me and everyone who knew him.

He was an artist, musician, author, poet, intellectual, biographer, historian and a connoisseur of wines, spirits, and cigars. He was born and raised in Midland, Michigan and lived much of his life in Saugatuck, Michigan, a small artists' community on the western coastline of Michigan overlooking Lake Michigan.

Michael made a living from the various forms of his art throughout his life. This website invites people to share the originals of his paintings on canvas, standard watercolor paper and in some cases, on exotic metallic paper. The website was created, and is maintained, by his lifelong friend John Holder, who believed his art should be shared with the world. All revenue generated by sales from this website go entirely to his beloved son, Peter J. Sweeney.

Below is a quote from Michael, describing his connection with painting sunsets:

I have always been fascinated and haunted by sunsets. As far back in childhood as I can remember, I purposely looked in the sky at twilight, whether in town where the sunset reflected from the tall steeple across the street from my house, my grandfather’s farm where the setting sun washed color through the open fields, or the expanse of the Great Lakes and its vast afterglow. I’ve always been compelled to take note of the event. I started painting them in an attempt to express my reaction in ways that photographs could not.