Artist Mike C. Berry uses sweeping brush strokes to portray the energy of life around him through layers of color and striking compositions in oils and pastels.  With a technique he describes as "brushy realism", Mike strives to capture the alluring effects of light in each work, ranging from the glow of a cafe at night to the brilliance of the sun on a outcropping of trees.  He completed a Masters in Fine Art from the Savannah College of Art & Design in Savannah, Georgia.  Throughout his journey as an artist, he has created many landscapes and portraits inspired by people and his travels around the world.  Mike has received wonderful instruction and personal encouragement from artists Michael Shane Neal, Richard Schmid, Bart Lindstrom, and expressionist painter Wolf Kahn.  Currently, Mike serves as Gallery Manager for the University of Tennessee's Downtown Gallery. He receives numerous commissions to create portraits and landscapes for clients and is creating a defined and collective body of work to make available to collectors and galleries.  He is an active member of the Portrait Society of America as well as the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville.  He and his wife, Leah, live in Knoxville, Tennessee.