MICHAEL DUMAS is a Canadian artist, whose paintings and drawings have been displayed in such notable venues as The McMichael Canadian Collection, The Suntory Museum of Art - Japan, and Nature in Art: The International Museum of Art Inspired by Nature - England. His artwork has appeared on Canadian postage stamps and commemorative coins, and he is an ardent naturalist who has been influential in raising millions of dollars for conservation worldwide. Michael is a passionate writer on the topics of art, conservation, and his experiences in the natural world, and has been published in Canada, The United States, England, and Japan. He resides with his wife Ellen in their studio-home in the Kawartha Lakes district of Ontario. "The fundamental character of my art lies in the intent to both gain and reveal insight based on direct personal experience with this comes the necessity to reveal some truth in the underlying nature of not only what has been seen but something of what is felt in the seeing. Every drawing or painting inevitably has something to do with the individual; its not simply about what is being depicted in and of itself. There are innumerable things one can choose to paint, that is, the objects themselves; but the underlying purpose of creating has to do with conveying something about why those objects inspire attention in the first place. The greater the connection, the more insightful the work will be, the more truth it will reveal, and not just about the thing painted but about the artist as well. This essential question of balance requires that one not over do or under do, but to do it just on the line. It is such a fragile thing though, and can so easily be lost"