Michael Herlihy is a plein air oil painter based on California's Central Coast, whose work captures the landscapes and seascapes of this extraordinary region. His practice centers on the exploration of light, atmosphere, and the raw beauty of the natural world.

Working en plein air across the Central Coast — from the rolling golden hills and ancient oaks of Santa Ynez Valley to the dramatic volcanic peaks of the Nine Sisters and the Pacific shoreline — Herlihy paints directly from nature, responding to the scene before him with bold palette knife technique and energetic brushwork.

His impressionist approach, inspired by the Australian plein air tradition, combines thick impasto oils with swift, gestural strokes. Up close, the paintings are brilliantly abstract — a myriad of color and texture — but stand back and they resolve into landscapes of mood, light, and place.