IN THE WINGS

Jennifer K Mahal

The moment I looked at the e-mailed photo of Newport Beach artist

Michael Crook’s work, I thought of my mother. Not that my mom looks like

an elephant, mind you. But she collects them, and Crook’s painted wood

sculpture of two elephants tenderly entwining their trunks, foreheads

pressed gently together, made me think of how my mom and I sometimes

press our heads together when we hug.

Wildlife is the main subject of Crook’s work -- from realistic looking

butterfly and bug pins to portraits of big cats like tigers. Though he

has never been to the wilds of Africa, the artist said he enjoys making

his works look as real as possible.

“I like the realism, I guess. To be able to look at it and say ‘that

really looks like the real thing. Especially people who’ve seen them in

the wild,” said Crook, who will display his art this weekend at the Long

Beach Convention Center as part of the Southern California Fall Arts

Festival.

Trips to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park are as close as Crook

has gotten to exotic wildlife.

Born in Lincoln, Neb., Crook said he started his forays into the art

world with paint by numbers.

“I’ve been doing one type or another all my life,” said Crook, who has

lived in Newport Beach for more than 20 years. “This combines sculpture

and painting.”

Raised in Sierra Madre, Calif., Crook attended art classes at Pasadena

City College, the now-defunct Chouinart Art Institute, UCLA and Cal State

Los Angeles. He participated in the Combat Artist program in Vietnam in

1967, and his drawings and paintings are a part of the U.S. Army Military

Art Collection at the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington

D.C.

Crook has created artwork in number of fields, including painting,

sculpting, welding and stained glass.

It wasn’t until his retirement six years ago from the family printing

business that Crook started to make his wildlife pieces on a regular

basis.

“I guess I’m really semi-retired,” he said. “I do spend a fair amount

of time at it.”

He sells his ware, with weekend help from wife Pamela, at arts and

craft shows across Southern California. However, there is one piece he

has decided not to sell -- the head of a tiger.

“It’s a piece I’m pretty proud of,” Crook said, “so, I decided to pull

it off the market and keep it.”

Sometimes the artwork surprises the artist.

“Seeing a finished piece look as good as it does.... It surprises me

often that they come out so well,” Crook said. “It’s almost like it’s not

me doing it, like it’s guided, or accidental.”

A portion of the proceeds from the Southern California Fall Arts

Festival will benefit the Long Beach Museum of Art’s children’s arts

education programs.

* * *

Do you know a local artist, writer, painter, singer, filmmaker, etc.,

who deserves to get noticed? Send your nominee to In The Wings, Daily

Pilot, 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627, by fax to (949) 646-4170 or

by e-mail to o7 jennifer.mahal@latimes.com.f7

* JENNIFER MAHAL is features editor of the Daily Pilot.

FYI

WHAT: Southern California Fall Arts Festival

WHERE: Long Beach Convention Center, Shoreline Drive, Long Beach

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

COST: $6.50 adults, $3 children ages 6 to 12, free for children

younger than 6

CONTACT: https://www.americanartfestivals.com