Michael J. Dambrowski captures the fleeting moments and scenes of life in the San Francisco Bay area, wine country, coast and farmlands in fresh, contemporary, realistic watercolors. An Ohio native and graduate of the University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, he had a long, successful career as a graphic designer in Ohio, New York, California and Arizona before concentrating on painting since 2015. Michael lives with his wife, Lisbeth, in Sonoma County near to their children and their families.

See more of Michael’s work in-person at his new exhibit, now on view at our Bear Valley Visitor Center through August 31st, 2026. Follow his work on Instagram @mjdambrowski.

Q: How long have you been creating art?

I’ve been creating art since junior high art class. I had the same art teacher in high school and was interested enough to study art in college and earn a degree in graphic design. After a career in that field, which included an occasional illustration project, I retired about twelve years ago. One recurring project at Arizona State University involved doing some watercolors which led to the purchase of ten paintings for their Virginia Piper Writers House. After I retired, I’ve continued painting. Point Reyes is inspiring because there is just so much nature to see in one park. Most recently, I think my favorite moment at the park was seeing all the elephant seals and pups at Drakes Beach this past spring.

Q: What do you love about watercolor? What draws you to this medium?

I like watercolor because it’s fresh and fun to work with. I used to work in acrylics but found myself working on them forever revising—a need for perfection from my decades as a designer and art director. Watercolor is less forgiving and requires getting it right from the start. Also, there are many nice things the water and paint will do with just a little help.

Q: Can you explain your artistic process?

Explaining my process is harder than doing it. I’m not a plein air painter. I’m an introvert and don’t like being watched while I paint or dealing with the logistics rather than the seeing. There’s a lot going on out in nature and the world all the time, so I take a lot of photos and then use them as reference to draw on watercolor paper. The extent of drawing depends on the subject or what I want to emphasize. A complex scene or architectural elements require more. I’ll often do little sketches just to work out what I want to do and to clarify lights and shadows and composition. Then I’ll try to have a plan of how to go about painting—where to begin? Do I need to mask any areas? Is there a dominant color? A main focal point? What to leave for the viewer to fill in? All with whatever I want the painting to say in mind. Watercolor is pretty unforgiving, so I try to plan and get it right first time. I have time, so while I try to paint most days, I only do a couple hours at a time and critique myself a lot—still that art director coming through, but always trying to loosen up and let the viewer do some of the work.

Q: Has painting changed or enhanced your relationship with nature? How so?

Painting makes me appreciate nature more. There’s so much you can miss if you don’t slow down and actually look.

Q: What do you hope visitors to the exhibit will take away after spending time with your work?

I would like visitors to appreciate what’s out there a bit more and remember the experiences—to slow down and really see as much as they can and not take this beautiful area for granted. They can’t see everything or every different animal or every different light on one visit. I hope my paintings remind them of something they’ve seen or lets them see something they missed.