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. Eventually, he 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.”
His 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.
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.
“Nauset Beach” 9″ x 12″ oil on board painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher. After seeing his oil painting, Michael’s mother sent him the photograph on the left of the same spot, which was taken in Cape Cod the previous year.
“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.
“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.
“Corazón eléctrico,” 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.
“Cruz de color negro,” 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,” 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,” 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” 6″ x 8″ painting on canvas by Michael Aaron Gallagher.
Large watercolor painting by Michael Aaron Gallagher.