about me

our house Bellefonte, PA U.S.A. 2008

Hi, I'm Mike Theuer.

I'm a professional portrait artist.  I create pencil portraits and watercolor portraits from your photographs by hand.  No computer imaging.

I have over thirty years art experience, most of that time spent teaching art at the Pennsylvania State University at University Park between 1994 and 2015.  Though I officially retired from teaching in 2015, I snuck back again recently!  And since 2007 I've been working full time in my current job as a portrait artist.

Chuck-14, Max-17, Henry-19

I spend my days painting and drawing from my home in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania U.S.A.  When I can, I also show my art in pencil, watercolor, and oil paint at local Galleries.  The rest of the time I direct chores, buy groceries, or drive one of my sons to school . . . because while my wife works as a middle-school counselor, I'm also the stay-at-home dad for my three boys!

As a young man I did eclectic things.  After a Master's in Psychology from PSU in '89, for example, I worked several years as a therapist for troubled kids.  And I also started a couple of businesses of my own.

As a kid I was introduced to art by my high-school art teacher.  He taught me how to use different media which I quickly aimed at capturing nature, drawing my first pencil portrait from a photo and painting my first watercolor painting from a calendar, both artworks when I was just 16.

me 2020

Today I've created over two thousand portraits.  In each I try to make a striking resemblance.  But I try not to make a portrait look smooth and blended like a photo.  I feel if I wanted a photo, then I should use a camera.  Instead I strive to make a portrait rough especially toward the edges of the paper.  Except the eyes.  The eyes I usually smooth and blend to look photographic hoping the contrast will draw your attention.  To me the eyes are where the resemblance is.