It was in an art class at Exeter High School that Michael
Bristol fell in love with watercolors.
Bristol, a member of the Exeter class of 1984 and a Cordova
Native , started drawing as a child, and unlike many children, his parents
didn’t discourage his artwork, “My parents saved a lot of things that I did, they definitely encouraged my art. I would not have
been able to build my shop or start if they had not supported my efforts.”
After high school Bristol built a little shop in Cordova and
began “to pursue an art career on my own.” From 1986-1992 he painted in
his shop in Cordova, producing some commissioned watercolor pieces including a
special painting, “Early Morning Railroad Town” for the Stuhr Museum as part of
a limited edition of prints that are still being sold to raise funds for the
Museum research.
Bristol kept busy with local work including a series of
tractor prints commissioned by the Clouse family in Friend. Bristol also
had one of his paintings of the Friend Elevator featured on the cover of
“Nebraska History” Magazine in 1990. He produced 36 paintings of Seward which are
on display at Jones National Bank, and were used by the bank to create
calendars.
Bristol’s work has also been featured in the Midwest edition
of the “New York Times,” on the cover of the magazine “Victorian Homes,” and in
“Home” magazine where he was featured in the “art to watch for” section.
You can find over 1200 paintings done by Bristol all across
the nation but viewing locations in Nebraska include
several Nebraska County Courthouse paintings on display at the Hruska Law
Center in Lincoln, the York Hospital, the Minden Exchange Bank and at
Cornerstone Bank, as well.
Even though he was keeping busy in Cordova, Bristol felt the
need to get out and experience something more. He went to Lincoln first,
working in restaurants and restaurant management before heading to Omaha where
in 2000 he got a job with the Omaha Community Playhouse, “I really started
painting again, doing sets and scenery.”
It was there he created the giant works of art that are on
display in the San Carlo room at the Warren Opera House in Friend. They
are from a production of “Annie Get Your Gun” from 2004. “These pieces
are just a small amount of the scenery in the show. I spent about a day
to a day and a half a piece start to finish on these,” explained Bristol.
Bristol saw the significance of these pieces for the Friend
Historical Society and the restoration of the Warren Opera House, “The show
(Annie Get Your Gun) takes place during the era the Opera House was built and
these would have been similar to advertisements people in Friend saw in 1887. I
asked the director at the playhouse if we could borrow them for some time but
my ultimate goal is to have them as part of the permanent collection.”
During the time Bristol spent in Omaha he also created some
murals for the pizza chain Sam and Louie’s in Omaha. In 2008, he headed for
Texas to do scenery for the Dallas Children’s Theatre. He spent a year there
but after both his parents passed away he realized how much he missed
Nebraska.
In 2009, he headed back to Cordova, purchasing his childhood
home from his siblings and restoring the 1908 jewel to its glory. Bristol has
begun to paint again when he has time between working in Exeter at Horizontal
Boring and Tunneling Co. and in Friend at the Pour House.
Bristol is back for now and given his dedication to his
restoration project, probably for good “I love it here and I love the people
here – you go away for a while then you realize you are happiest here. The best
part is that I am home and close to my family. I had to go check it out, I met
some great people and experienced a lot of things but it
is here on the Nebraska plains that I draw my inspiration.”
