Welcome to my website! My name is Michael Ananian. I was born and raised in Haverhill, Massachusetts and spent my high school years in Atkinson, New Hampshire. I got my BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 1987 and my MFA from Yale School of Art in 1990. In 1994, I moved to Greensboro, North Carolina to teach at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as an assistant professor of painting and drawing. I'm still there, but now I'm a tenured, full professor.

I paint in oils and casein. I draw in charcoal and other dry media. I also draw in ink. At the start of 2022, I have expanded my media to include digital drawing and painting.

Since 2014, I've been an avid Old Time music enthusiast and player; I play clawhammer and two finger style banjo.

I'm married and have two cats. My wife Dr. Jennifer Keith is a Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and specializes in British Restoration and 18th century poetry. We met there in 2005.

Being an educator as well as a painter, I cannot help but think that written clarification enriches the visual experience of artwork. So, I put below each piece (scroll down a bit from the image to see) some text that explains my ideas for the artwork.

I hope you enjoy my paintings and drawings. If you'd like to learn more about my artwork and me, here's a 2018 video by the Philadelphia documentary filmmaker and painter John Thornton: https://youtu.be/5iEhxTiBHv0

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions: mananian@northstate.net