The side of a white, worn-down house with a brick chimney.

Mike McDonnell was born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1937. From 1956-58 he studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and then continued his studies from 1958-60 at the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy School of Fine Arts. As a young artist, fresh out of art school and two years serving as a draftsman in the Army, McDonnell returned to Michigan searching for inspiration and work. He eventually settled in Frankfort, Michigan where he spent over 40 years painting portraits, still lifes, interiors and architectural studies, until his death in 2010.