Michael Defrancesco is a graduate of The American Academy of Art in Chicago from where he obtained a Fine Arts degree. He works with Painting and Drawing techniques derived from the study of many masters new and old. He was awarded the Robert Allerton Scholarship and he received a diploma from the University of Illinois in Monticello. His art is a culmination of all that he has learned, Painted and Drawn over the years. Defrancesco has taught Oil Painting, Architectural Rendering, Life Drawing and Illustration at Columbia College of Chicago, The Harrington Institute of Interior Design, and Ray College of Design, currently The Illinois Institute of Art. Defrancesco has worked as Art Director, Illustrator and an Artist. He mostly paints what he loves and wants... but, will occasionally take on commissions if they inspire him. What he loves to paint are Horror, Fantasy, Classic Rock, Pop Surealism and Syfi themes. Defrancesco is into nostalgia as well.
While at the American Academy of Art, he was fortunate to have studied under Fred Berger, Eugene Hall, Vern Stake, and Bill Parks, who were among the wonderful instructors in the institution. He has done both in-house and freelance illustration for a wide variety of companies, including The Boitsov Ballet of Chicago and the Combined Insurance Company of America. He has worked as a portrait artist in Anaheim, California for Walt Disney Productions. His work can be found in the private collections of The Continental Can Company and McDonald Douglas. The artist has taught illustration, oil painting, and life drawing at many leading schools including The Harrington Institute of Interior Design, Columbia College of Chicago, and the Illinois Institute of Art.
