Michael Aaron Gallagher painting en plein air on Nauset Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the autumn of 2020.
Resting on an easel by the lakeshore, this 12″ x 16″ plein air oil painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher was painted in the autumn of 2025 on a 1/8″ gessoed wood panel.
Michael Aaron Gallagher began painting as a way to express ideas visually and share the world through his eyes. Before he became an avid art collector, he started by creating his own original works to decorate the walls of his first apartment. Inspired by California-based artist Michael Chamberlain’s YouTube videos (read “Michael Chamberlain Painting in Plein Air“), he eventually picked up the hobby of painting outdoors, while on vacation in Cape Cod. “I really enjoy plein air painting,” he said. “Even though it can be more challenging than painting indoors, it’s so relaxing. I don’t try to paint what I see. I paint how I feel about what I see.”
In his studio, where he paints many of his portraits, he has more than 100 paint brushes, two aluminum easels, an adjustable drafting table, a pochade box and a drying rack for 20 paintings. One of the goals in his five-year plan is to complete 100 (non-abstract) finished paintings.
Michael’s early works were painted with acrylic on canvas, but he soon transitioned to creating oil paintings on sturdier wooden panels, like the Mona Lisa Gessoed Art Board panels by Speedball, which are no longer in production. In 2025, he decided to paint exclusively on Ampersand’s Museum Series Gessobord 1/8” thick panels and The Artist Panel with Smooth Finish for experimental works.
Michael primarily uses Winsor & Newton oil paints. Depending on the subject and style of the piece, his color palette may include Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Van Dyke Brown, Italian Terra Rosa, Yellow Ochre (his favorite color to paint with), Naples Yellow, Alizarin Red, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Prussian Blue, Cobalt Blue, Sap Green, Plant Green, Phthalo Green, Dioxazine Purple, Ivory Black and Titanium White.
Hidden within his art are many meanings. Whether painting in the studio or en plein air, he abandons many of the conventions of traditional painters, creating an unusual world that is unlike anything you have seen before. Below is a small selection of oil paintings, acrylics and watercolor works by Michael Aaron Gallagher. They are not currently for sale.
En Plein Air Paintings
“Fallen Tree” (2026) by Michael Aaron Gallagher. Oil on board (11″x14″). This oil painting was done on location en plein air in two separate sessions, a few months apart. During the painting process, several people stopped walking along the path by the shore to talk to Michael about the piece.
“Tower Viewer” (2026). Oil painting on board (9″ x 12″) by Michael Aaron Gallagher. This alla prima (completed in one session) impressionist piece was finished en plein air.
“Nauset Beach” (2020) 9″ x 12″ oil on board painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher. This was Michael’s first plein air oil painting. After seeing the final piece, Michael’s mother sent him the photograph on the left of the same spot, which was taken in Cape Cod the previous year.
Studio Paintings
“On The Telephone” (2026) – Acrylic on canvas (24”x30”) painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher. Inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s iconic work, which features Ben-Day dots, Michael created an original Pop Art piece with hundreds of dots, entirely hand-painted with a paint brush – using only blue, red, yellow, black and white. The composite image stars Spanish actress Candela Saitta (with blonde hair and blue-eyed contact lenses) based on the mirror image of her InStyle magazine photoshoot, set in an office that is visually opposite from the one in the television series “Mad Men.” Michael’s goal was to create a mid-century modern vibe in the piece, while sprinkling in hidden symbolism by referencing Gotham billionaire Bruce Wayne and a social commentary of “Life” being upside-down right now. The red telephone represents Batman’s direct line to Michael’s office, illustrating the importance of their fictional work together in this adaptation of the classic comic-book story. Coincidentally, the four letter r’s resemble the Robin emblem from the 1995 movie “Batman Forever.” Partially hidden behind the text bubble is a version of Michael’s 2015 modern abstract acrylic painting “Corazón eléctrico,”which hangs on the wall in the background of some of his other paintings as well. The choice to reference Marilyn Monroe’s 1952 Life Magazine cover also fits the “Mad Men” themed office, which was set in the Time & Life building in New York City. Although Michael isn’t pictured in the frame, he is considering making the piece a triptych and doing a comic-book style self-portrait on one of the other panels.
“La serpiente y la manzana” (2025) Oil on Ampersand Gessobord panel by Michael Aaron Gallagher. This painting was inspired by Michael’s travel photograph from 2019 of the chapel at San Xavier del Bac Mission in Arizona.
“Sunflowers” (2026) Oil painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher. Influenced by the popular series of sunflower paintings that Vincent van Gogh created to decorate the guest room for Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin in Arles, France, Michael painted this 12″ x 16″ still life on a damaged Ampersand The Artist Panel. You can view Michael’s photo of one of Vincent’s sunflower paintings on the Art Museums and Galleries page under Travels in the main menu.
Michael Aaron Gallagher, Self-Portrait (2026). 16″ x 20″ oil painting inspired by 1 Samuel 2:8. “He raises the poor out of the dust and lifts up the beggar from the ashes, to set them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he has set the world upon them.”
“Tug Everlast” (2026) 8″ x 10″ oil painting on Ampersand’s The Artist Panel. This piece by Michael Aaron Gallagher was given as a gift. The painting was also shared on social media by McAsphalt Industries Limited, the Canadian company that operates Everlast.
“Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, Cape Vincent, NY” (2026). 8″ x 10″ oil painting on Ampersand’s The Artist Panel. This piece by Michael Aaron Gallagher was given as a gift.
The Girl in the Yellow Dress Series
“Thirteen – Banksy” (2025) 11″ x 14″ oil painting on panel by Michael Aaron Gallagher. An homage to legendary English street artist Banksy, who inspired the piece, this oil painting holds hidden meanings within its colors, symbolism and technique. The work itself was a recreation of a scene from a series of Sharpie marker drawings that Michael made in 2020 on corrugated boxes during his free time at work. What appears at first to be a childlike painting, actually tells a multilayered story using a minimalistic, naïve style that celebrates the imagery of Banksy as well as prehistoric cave paintings. To keep the spirit of the original piece, a Sharpie marker drawing was first made on the gessoed panel board. In some places, Michael has allowed this modified original sketch to appear through the gray paint as evidence of the artistic process and the evolution of the composition.
“Gone Fishin’ (2026)” by Michael Aaron Gallagher. (9″ x 12″) Oil painting on Ampersand The Artist Panel. The second painting in “The Girl in the Yellow Dress Series,” this oil painting was based on a Sharpie marker drawing from 2020 made on a cardboard box. Hanging on the wall in the background is a version of Michael’s “Electric Heart” painting, which often appears in his work, along with other reoccurring symbols like those on the rug, one of which is also in the logo for The Michael Aaron Gallagher Fine Art Collection.
Contemporary Abstract Art
“Cruz de color negro” (2016) 12″ x 12” acrylic on canvas painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher. Each of the three paintings in this series were created with only three brush strokes.
“Aves de presa” (2016) 12″ x 12” acrylic on canvas painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher. Each of the three paintings in this series were created with only three brush strokes.
“Flecha” (2016) 12″ x 12” acrylic on canvas painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher. Each of the three paintings in this series were created with only three brush strokes.
“The Crown – Jean-Michel Basquiat” (2020) 6″ x 8″ painting on canvas by Michael Aaron Gallagher.
“Corazón eléctrico” (2015) 24″ x 30” modern art acrylic on canvas painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher.
“The Last Saguaro” (2026) 9″ x 12″ oil painting on board by Michael Aaron Gallagher.
Watercolor Paintings
“Untitled” (2016) Large watercolor painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher.