Michael is particularly interested in pursuing creative joy. It comes in the form of his singing, which he does with his band Chupacabra. It comes in the form of design projects, a discipline he started with one-time partner and still close friend, Rick Bach. But it manifests itself most remarkably and demonstrably through his paintings, which are showcased in both national and international galleries and forums and are almost purely based on self-expression vs. commissioned work.

He talks about his 17 – yes, 17 – different moves he made as a child growing up between Ohio and Florida and how he pretty much ran into the same type of kid no matter where he lived and basically treated the whole experience as akin to camping. He discusses how art shouldn't be a committee experience, compares the process to cooking, that the art of creating everyday is an act of defiance and reveals to us his favorite part of the day.

Check out Michael's pursuits at both http://www.lotenero.com/ or http://chupacabraband.com/index.html