Each year, a local friend of the arts donates $100 for this prize. Visitors to the show are encouraged to vote for their favorite piece, and this year Burpoe’s watercolor painting, “Oh, How I Wish I Was at the Islands…” received the most votes.

Burpoe is a watercolor artist originally from Saranac Lake who now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. Growing up in the Adirondacks impacted him greatly. There, his love for the outdoors and painting was fostered from an early age.

A 2013 graduate of Saranac Lake High School, Michael studied graphic design at the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences at The Rochester Institute of Technology, graduating summa cum laude in 2017.

During the initial quarantining period of the coronavirus pandemic, Burpoe spent nearly all of his free time painting, using art as a form of escapism. In that time, he created over 50 paintings, the majority of which are inspired directly or indirectly by places within the blue line of the Adirondack Park. Currently, Burpoe is painting iconic views from around the Adirondacks, in a series titled “Adirondack Lifestyle.” Several of these are created from photographs his mother takes while adventuring through the wilderness of the High Peaks region. With each painting, Michael hopes to unlock hidden memories that lie dormant inside all of us, waiting to be revisited at the earliest opportunity.

A watercolor painting by Michael Burpoe, “Oh, How I Wish I Was at the Islands...” (Provided photo)

He recently had a show titled “Adirondack Lifestyle” at the Blue Moon Cafe from Thanksgiving until New Year’s, and maintains a selection of work as an exhibit there today.

His painting “Oh, How I Wish I Was at the Islands…” is of his family’s two canoes at Picnic Point. The original photo was taken by his mother this past summer. It can be viewed at the Blue Moon Cafe.