Michael Obermeyer

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Biography

Michael Obermeyer, a native Southern Californian, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from California State University, Long Beach. A twenty-year career in illustration included work for Walt Disney Studios, the Anaheim Angels, McDonnell Douglas, Coldwell Banker, and the United States Air Force.

Because of his illustration background, Obermeyer is equally comfortable with painting landscapes and figures. Many of his paintings are in the U.S. Air Force Historical Art Collection at the Smithsonian Institute and the Pentagon.

Obermeyer received the 2006 Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational Collector’s Choice Award, the 2006 Crystal Cove Alliance First Place and Best of Cove Awards, and the Gold Medal at the Carmel Art Festival. Most recently, he won the Collector’s Circle Award at the 2014 Laguna Beach Invitational Plein Air Competition as well as the Best of Show at the 2014 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art. Collectors include Marriott Hotels and Resorts, The Irvine Company, Taylor Woodrow Homes, and many corporate as well as private commissions. Obermeyer maintains his studio in Laguna Beach, California, where he is a regular exhibitor at the Festival of Arts. He also teaches "Landscape Design" at Laguna College of Art and Design.

Selected Collections

U.S. Air Force Historical Art Collection at the Smithsonian Institute, as well as the Pentagon; Marriott Hotels and Resorts; The Irvine Company; Taylor Woodrow Homes

Professional Memberships

President (as of 2022) and Signature Artist Member, California Art Club; Artist Member, Oil Painters of America, Signature Member, American Impressionist Society; Signature Member, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association; Signature Member, Society of Illustrators

Awards and Achievements

2024 Modern Impressionist Award of Excellence California Art Club’s 113th Gold Medal Exhibition held at Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University

2016
Best of Show Award in Kern County Plein Air Painting Festival at Bakersfield Museum of Art

2015
Lifetime Achievement Award from Laguna Plein Air Painters Association

2013
Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational Southwest Art Quick-draw Award

2012
Crystal Cove Foundation Award

2006
Crystal Cove Alliance First Place and Best of Cove Awards

2003
Fifth Annual Laguna Plein Air Invitational Collector's Choice Award; Gold Medal at the Carmel Art Festival

Press and Publications

American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer in The California Club Quarterly Magazine.

Michael Obermeyer Featured in The California Club Quarterly Magazine, Spring 2023

The California Club’s painting, Opening Day 1958: Dodger Baseball Comes to LA by Obermeyer, was a 2018 Art Patrons’ Fund purchase and winner of the Irvine Museum Award at the …

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Chuck Kovacic and Michael Obermeyer in Plein Air Magazine, December 2021 Issue.

Chuck Kovacic and Michael Obermeyer featured in Plein Air Magazine, December 2021

This fall, Ellen Howard, Paul Kratter, James McGrew, Michael Obermeyer, and Chuck Kovacic took a group of artists to paint one of the most beautiful and pristine wildernesses in California. …

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer in Southwest art Magazine, March/ April 2019.

Michael Obermeyer in Southwest Art Magazine March/April 2019

“YOU CAN’T HELP but get excited if you want to know what’s going on today in traditional fine-art painting and sculpture,” says Elaine Adams, the California Art Club’s executive director, …

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer in Southwest Art Magazine, April 2018 issue.

Michael Obermeyer Featured in Southwest Art Magazine April 2018

EARLY IN THE 20th century, distinguished landscape painters began pouring into Laguna Beach, CA, to capture its seven-mile coastline, turquoise-blue water, and pounding surf.

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Jim McVicker in Southwest Art Magazine October 2017 Issue

Michael Obermeyer in Southwest Art Magazine October 2017 Issue

A LITTLE OVER a century ago, a burgeoning colony of plein-air painters began populating Laguna Beach, so en­raptured were they by its unparalleled beauty and light.

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer in Coast Magazine, August 2016 Issue.

Michael Obermeyer in Coast Magazine, August 2016

THE ARTIST: As far back as he can remember, Michael Obermeyer wanted to draw and paint: dinosaurs, planes, people – it didn’t matter. He worked as an illustrator in the …

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer in Plein Air Magazine, Fall 2015.

Michael Obermeyer Featured in Plein Air Magazine, Fall 2015 Issue

Few plein air painters are as perceptive as Michael Obermeyer when it comes to understanding and recording the most captivating moments in a day.

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer winning Fine Art Connoisseur Award October 2014

Fine Art Connoisseur Award Winner Michael Obermeyer in Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine October 2014

A star-studded, heavily attended painting competition in Laguna Beach represented landscape art at its finest. The Laguna Plein Air Painters Association hosted an exhibition of stellar new paintings last weekend, following its …

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer in Southwest Art Magazine October 2014.

Michael Obermeyer in Southwest Art Magazine October 2014 Issue

SINCE THE EARLY 20th century, art­ist have flocked to Laguna Beach for the chance to paint in the open air. Some ob­servers like to say that with its lush flora …

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer in Pasdena Star News July 2013.

Michael Obermeyer in Pasadena Star News July 2013

Nothing says summer better than an image capturing a moment along the California coast. And the exhibit, “On The Water,” shows more than 50 surfside paintings by California Art Club …

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American Legacy Fine Arts presents Michael Obermeyer in Southwest Art Magazine.

Michael Obermeyer Interviewed by Southwest Art Magazine May 2012 Issue

Describe your studio: My studio is in a complex of art studios about a mile and a half from the beach in Laguna Canyon. There’s a trailhead for the Laguna …

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