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THE FINE ART OF MICHAEL BRAIA
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Braia’s father, Michael G. Braia, creating duct in his sheet metal shop, 1984.
Born in Central New York in the mid-1960s, Braia’s early childhood was influenced by a then more commonplace Italian-Americanized local culture. He explains, “Early on, we usually spent quite a bit of time with our extended family, visiting cousins and grandparents, enjoying homemade dinners after weekend Mass. Food was central to family interaction at the time. . . . Looking back, my younger years seemed a great time in my life. I had fun with the other children at school. By the time I reached middle school, however, I recall becoming less attentive, somewhat rebellious, and having difficulty paying attention in classes. . . . In the neighborhood, we had a rambunctious flair. I loved climbing trees and remember looking for crayfish or fossils within and around the nearby streams.”
Born in Central New York in the mid-1960s, Braia’s early childhood was influenced by a then more commonplace Italian-Americanized local culture. He explains, “Early on, we usually spent quite a bit of time with our extended family, visiting cousins and grandparents, enjoying homemade dinners after weekend Mass. Looking back, my younger years seemed a great time in my life. I had fun with the other children at school. By the time I reached middle school, however, I recall becoming less attentive, somewhat rebellious, and having difficulty paying attention in classes.”
“When a person immerses oneself into the world of the arts, exploration strengthens palettes; interrelationships between modes of expression become evident.” Braia hadn’t given much thought to the idea of modeling as a youth. “Externally, I was sometimes tough, or tried to act cool, but I was really just a skinny, insecure kid around the time of middle school, trying to understand where I fit in.” He began to take interest in the martial arts, boxing, and fitness, which continued over the years. “At that time, immersing myself in diet and fitness kept me out of trouble, and helped me to feel good about myself…. I recall a friendly high-school teacher and a few other kids mentioning that I was starting to look like a model. I thought it was funny, until I realized that I could make a little money. One day I boldly walked into a local clothing store, asking if they needed any models”.
“When a person immerses oneself into the world of the arts, exploration strengthens palettes; interrelationships between modes of expression become evident.” Braia hadn’t given much thought to the idea of modeling as a youth. “Externally, I was sometimes tough, or tried to act cool, but I was really just a skinny, insecure kid trying to understand where I fit in.” He began taking an interest in the martial arts, boxing, and fitness. “I recall a friendly high-school teacher and a few other kids mentioning that I was starting to look like a model. One day I boldly walked into a local clothing store, asking if they needed any models.”
Braia began his working career in the graphic design space. He spent a short time designing ads at a small subsidiary of the Bristol-Myers Corporation, a year in the advertising department at a regional furniture outlet, and then took on an Art Director role at a small local newspaper. “One of the traits that made me different from many other designers at that time was that I could draw and paint. I developed strong typographical and design skills during the burgeoning period of the Apple Mac.” This led to Braia’s hiring by the Syracuse Newspapers as a staff artist and information graphic specialist. During this period he assisted in redesigning The Post-Standard media consultant Mario Garcia. Additionally, Braia won national and international awards in areas of design, illustration, and breaking news graphics, through the Associated Press and the Society for News Design.
The Newhouse School of Public Communications, at Syracuse University, took notice and asked Michael to visit the school to share experiences with communications students. This led to Michael developing a syllabus for and teaching a graduate visual communications class, “GRA518 / Theory of Printed Communication” through the early and mid-90s.
Braia began his working career in the graphic design space. He spent time designing ads before taking on an Art Director role at a small local newspaper. “One of the traits that made me different from many other designers at that time was that I could draw and paint. I developed strong typographical and design skills during the burgeoning period of the Apple Mac.” This led to Braia’s hiring by the Syracuse Newspapers as a staff artist and information graphic specialist. During this period he assisted in redesigning The Post-Standard with media consultant Mario Garcia and won national and international awards through the Associated Press and the Society for News Design.
Early in his career, Braia grappled with the symbiotic, yet hierarchical relationship between illustration and fine art. Today, the space between high art and commercial appeal is less grey. Historians note that Rembrandt etched promotional pieces to display his skills, while many artists during the Renaissance and other pivotal periods commonly worked for hire. On the other side of the pendulum, Norman Rockwell would sometimes give his paintings away after their intended use, unaware of the tremendous value they would one day hold.
Today, Braia resides in both Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. Most of his recent works are exclusively in oils, or mixed media and oils, depending on the type of support or substrate. Copper or various metals are occasionally incorporated into works, depending on intent. For potential clients, Braia maintains interest in creating either originals, or boutique-batch, carefully crafted, hand-modified limited-edition archival giclées of current work. Pricing varies by piece, size, and volume when applicable.
Portraits within this website are part of a broader artistic body of work. For the occasional interpretive, transformative portrait, it’s important for clients to understand the difference between copyright and right of publicity.