the art of
michael william foster
art direction, writing, graphic design, digital illustration & more
Like a ghost playing the saxophone, this is where imagination comes to play. Ready for an adventure in art & design? Let’s go!
the art of
michael william foster
art direction, writing, graphic design, digital illustration & more
Like a ghost playing the saxophone, this is where imagination comes to play. Ready for an adventure in art & design? Let’s go!
view michael’s design portfolio
Michael’s experience in graphics, marketing, illustration and video production fill an essential need in advertising agencies, printing companies, and design firms.
Some of the clients Michael has worked with include: Microsoft, US – Japan Business Council, JW Merc, Reliance Accounting, PepsiCo, RAINN (co-founded by Tori Amos & Sarah McLaughlin), Chicagoland Speedway, Richard Shay Photography, The British Embassy in the United States, Ben Hollis Worldwide, and Aphex. His previous television work has gained the interest of major studios such as Dreamworks SKG.
this is michael
Michael is an artist, designer and communications expert, or so he says. Most of the stuff you’ll find on this site, the design, writing, creative and art belongs to him, mostly…
“The web is amazing at content, terrible with context. That’s what’s next. Finding ways to quickly embed and express context within content.”
you’ll like mike
Michael works with clients around the globe on a wide variety of creative projects. He is also an accomplished photographer and videographer with over two decades of experience. He turns your vivid imagination into reality, simple as that.
Michael is also a professional writer and screenplay composer. In the past, he has blogged for the Huffington Post, Éclat International, and Psychology Today.
new artwork
view the latest artwork by michael about the complexity of life
new websites
Michael likes to make websites. Check out his latest portfolio.
view michael’s art portfolio
Michael’s work continues the visual analogy of civilization coping with Moore’s Law through the lens of the subconscious. Distorted handwritten notes and encrypted keyword ciphers are interwoven throughout mysterious structures and various abstractions including comic illustrations and other non-specific futuristic forms.
The result is a data landscape of today’s anxious subconscious mind, presenting how we remember life events and interpret the kinetic surfaces and essences of the environment and emotions that we are sometimes reluctantly embedded within. And they look great on your wall.
Latest News
Japanese Showcase at 2022’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema
This weekend, there were four outstanding films presented for the Japanese Showcase at 2022's Asian Pop-Up Cinema, Season 15. It was a marvelous time, and there are many more films from South Korea, Taiwan, [...]
New Art Show at Sweetwaters Cafe
A large collection of my recent paintings will be featured for three months at Sweetwater's Cafe in Downtown Naperville starting on June 14th, 2022. If you happen to be [...]
Four Shorts About Dogs… and 1920s Chicago
A series of two-minute films about a good cop and his two dogs planning to take down Johnny the Matchstick Man in 1920s Chicago. This is what happens when his wife leaves to dog sit [...]
The Future of Cinema: An Event for Blink Community Tokyo
Here's a Quick Overview The Rundown: 1) Digital technology makes it virtually impossible to compete by simply limiting access to content. That means the only way to [...]
For Sale: Michael’s Digital Illustration Postcards (Set of 12)
We have the first edition of Digital Illustration 4.72" x 4.72" postcards now for sale. 18-19pt paper thickness 4.72" x 4.72" in size matte finish They come in sets of 12 for $25 (plus [...]
From Chicago to Osaka [シカゴから大阪へ]: The Motion Picture
In the spirit of award-winning indie romantic comedy/dramas from the early 2000's, From Chicago to Osaka is a screenplay written for the modern era. With fast-paced ping pong comedic dialogue in both English and [...]
Art, Advertising & U.S.-Japan Relations: Event by BLINK Community
On January 22nd, I had the privilege to host an online event with The Blink Community in Tokyo. It was a fun talk and I was truly honored to be [...]
I Am a Ghost Movie Poster Project
Here's something very exciting I finally feel like I can share! I was commissioned to illustrate a movie poster for an upcoming film called ‘I Am a Ghost,” developed by Tetsuki Ijichi for Rain [...]
Modern Japanese Culture for Beginners
You can read the original article here on the Ikigai Connections website... When Kasia asked me to write for Ikigai Connections, specifically for the Senpai Success Stories, I felt humbled and honored by [...]
Watch Michael on The Polymath Podcast with Dustin Miller
Michael was featured as a guest the on the season three opener of the Polymath Podcast with Dustin Miller. They talk about the book "Manifestos, Reinventions and Declarations," the constant struggle to find inspiration, and [...]
Would Persona 5 Work as a Film Series? A Persona 5 Live-Action Movie Adaptation Synopsis
An in-depth overview of how one of the greatest video games of this generation could be translated into a highly successful film trilogy. (First published on November 14th, 2020. The [...]
Russell Smith and Michael Foster Appear on The In-Between Show with Carrie & Alex
Russell and I were just on the "In-Between Show with Carrie & Alex." We talked about our new book Manifestos, Reinventions & Declarations as well as a bit of history about ourselves. It was [...]
Notes on Living Through History in the Making
Manifestos, Reinventions & Declarations is a commentary on this unprecedented moment in history. This is a book about Now. The New Now we’re living in and going through. We’re living in a time when a day can feel like it goes on forever. And since billions of us are going through the same experience at the exact same moment in history, we can all be shifting the world culture together.
With a global pandemic rolling across and ravaging our land, we can more easily understand how historic and pre-historic events actually happened. Now, with deeply embedded wrongheaded cultural norms being pushed against as never before, we can also understand how societal shifts sometimes happened in past centuries, within months, days, or hours, or when a tipping point was finally reached.
Collectively, in the back of our minds, a part of us knew a massive shift could or would eventually happen. We’ve all been dreaming of, or expecting some type of change to happen. Although we weren’t expecting anything as drastic and cultural/world shifting as what did happen.
We all want to change our own lives for the better, and now it truly feels like it should also include the lives of others. Without time to plan for this, it felt like it happened in an instant.
So, if anyone needed any proof, yes, we are definitely all one.
If we believe we possess the power to change ourselves, then the same has to be true for positively shifting the culture. Transforming our culture into a more empathetic, generous, and tolerant culture is worth the effort. And this is the ideal historic moment to do so. If not now, when?
“Professionals have spent a lot more time doing what they love to do. There’s an illusion that an amateur can always be just as good as a professional, but that’s only under the most ideal conditions. I can honestly say that because as any professional will tell you, you’ve spent a lot of time as an amateur in way over your head.”
people and places Michael’s worked with…
