about mike

Mike McSwain is Larsson’s father and is an architect, artist, and perpetual doodler. Mike was raised in Houston, Texas and has called Shreveport home since 1995. Drawing has been a constant throughout his life - a way to document, dream, design and celebrate. As an architect, Mike obsesses with both the natural and built environments and documents them through sketching. He is constantly building a visual library of spaces, how they’re used, and feelings created through space. Typically, Mike sketches his drawings live on site with pencil to get the basic composition and proportions, then he inks them to add detail. Watercolor is later added in the home studio. Gestural in nature, the quick sketching adds a sense of movement within the line-work and creates a general “messy” quality. Mounted prints are duplicated, layered, and hand cut to create “3D Cutouts”, which adds a sense of depth to the work. Mike has found the whole process of creating this show with Larsson to be incredibly inspiring and rewarding!