Michael Albrechtsen may have started his fine-art career later in life, but he has dramatically made up for lost time. In 1989 the artist left the corporate world to make a full-time commitment to his love of fine art, and he has never looked back. Inspired by the outdoors and the encouragement of his family, Albrechtsen now shares that joy with others by blending his sensitivity to nature with strong compositions and an innate understanding of color and atmosphere in his landscape paintings. 

Born in Bountiful, Utah at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, Albrechtsen developed a deep connection with the outdoors at an early age. He took two art classes in high school but after receiving a D and D-, he was told to pursue another direction. The artist hit the restart button while serving on a mission trip in Thailand for his church. Shortly thereafter, he began studying technical drafting and eventually made his way to Utah State University, where he majored in illustration. While in school, Albrechtsen discovered that there wasn’t necessarily a formula to painting, but rather a learned understanding of color, composition, and atmosphere achieved through hard work and practice. After graduation and spending five years at Hallmark Cards, the artist began painting full-time.

Today Albrechtsen continues to travel to different locations to spend time in nature, sketch and paint from life, and gather photo reference. His goal is to paint light and atmosphere, not necessarily a specific subject, by composing the objects, colors, and values in such a way to create several points of interest. 

Through the years Albrechtsen has learned that, for him, painting is as natural and needed as breathing. “I try to take time off from painting, but it just doesn’t work,” he shares. “Painting is a way for me to express my emotions about what I see around me. Whether or not I sell anything is secondary. I still have to paint.”

Albrechtsen is represented by Paderewski Fine Art (Beaver Creek, CO and Nashville, TN), Pitzer’s Fine Arts (Wimberly, TX), Highlands Art Gallery (Lambertville, NJ), and Illume Gallery of Fine Art (St. George, UT).