Mike Battenberg is a member of Oil Painters of America and past member of the Chestnut group in Nashville whose members paint in open or "plein air". Born and raised in Mishawaka, Indiana, Mike grew up in an artistic family. As a child he had always enjoyed drawing, and several trips to the Art Institute of Chicago got him hooked. Mike graduated from Andrews University  in Michigan with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1976. After college he moved to Nashville to pursue a career in the publishing industry as an illustrator and designer. He worked at LifeWay Christian Resources for 22 years. In 2000 he began pursuing his lifelong dream as a fine art painter in representational art. In 2003 he took a week long workshop with "PAPA"  (Plein-Air Painters of  America) I got to watch and learn from people like Gay Faulkenberry, Ken Backhaus, John Budicin, Joseph Mendez, and Ron Rencher. In 2005 he took a portrait workshop from internationally known portrait artist Dawn Whitelaw whose mentor is Everett Raymond Kintsler. Mike has also been influenced by living artists Matt Smith, Walt Gonske, Scott Burdick, Jeremy Lipking and Morgan Weistling. He has studied the works of the early California impressionists including Guy Rose, William Wendt, Granville Redmond, and George Gardner Symons. VanGogh and Monet will always be his biggest inspiration. 
   Mike's subject matter is well rounded and includes Still Life, Seascapes, Landscapes and Figures. His work is found in many private collections across America.