Our in-studio gallery recently featured the vibrant work of Mayer/Reed Senior Designer and Associate Mike Hawks. The three paintings, from his Engaging the Body, Quieting the Mind series, are a colorful expression of the body’s innate creative language. 

These bold, abstract compositions stand in contrast to the precision and logic of Mike’s professional design work. In his paintings, instinct and improvisation take the lead. “In my personal artistic pursuits,” he shares, “I’m free from rules and rational thought, allowing pure expression to flow.”  

That flow, however, didn’t come easy this time. After a hiatus from painting, Mike faced the blank canvas without the spark that had once driven him. What followed was a period of creative struggle — a reckoning that ultimately forced him to let go of artistic habits and expectations. As Mike began to embrace the discomfort and push beyond familiar techniques, things started to change. A new color combination, a different brush, small things built up to big discoveries, and finally a breakthrough. 

Outside of Mayer/Reed, Mike has shown his art in two Portland exhibits and he’s currently working on new paintings for a third. With lessons learned from his previous creative challenge, Mike is now approaching the blank canvas without expectations. “I feel creatively liberated, like the guardrails have been removed from my mind.”