Mike Bohatch was born in 1967 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He is a professional commercial illustrator and graphic designer living in Colorado; who specializes in the realm of dark horrific imagery and surreal compositions. Bohatch uses mixed media techniques for his creation process, which combines drawing, painting, assemblage, collage, photography, sculpture and digital compositing. "A portion of my artwork is created digitally. But the other half is created physically (traditional mediums). It would be easy for me to be nothing but a digital artist, although digital is only one piece of the puzzle. I usually have an idea or emotion I want to bring to life through art, and it's generated through various mediums. This is where it all begins. No picture is completely done the same way. Some portions may come from pieces I painted and then scanned in, and others, may come from just photos. I use Adobe Photoshop as my compositing tool," explains Bohatch.

His background comes from many years of hard work in the digital art field and schooling in the traditional arts. As a true fan of horror and the fantasy genre, Bohatch produces dark art which both illustrates and brings to life nightmares and fears. And they are all based on emotions, mythology, and mundane life. His future goals entail working in more depth in the Motion Picture industry. He has always been involved in the arts — he took his passion for horror movies and his love for creating bizarre images into the realm of illustration. Bohatch has dedicated many years to working with digital mediums of print, design, web, and multimedia. However, it wasn't until implementing his studies of traditional fine arts, that he begun to fulfill his true realization of his ideas and visions. By combining the physical side of fine arts with the electronic (computer graphics), he started a process of image-making he refers to as "digital organics."

Bohatch transcends into the dark underworld of bizarre nightmares, unsettling imagery which faints mysterious cries of light and a surreal escape — which are all transmitted through his intense artwork. But why is he deeply fascinated with these dark subject matters? "It's human nature to have a fascination for the unknown. It's human nature to slow down your car a bit to see an accident on the side of the road. We fear the situation, but we are also exhilarated by it's reaction. We have seen our share of angel depictions, but the world needs balance. The fantastical provides a release, a moment of connection, a moment of release from reality, a moment of wonder — that wonder exist both in the light and the dark. I have just chosen to show that darkness, and reference it through my emotions. From monsters to myths to surrealism... I try to show things that may not be present in your day to day life — it is as simple as that."

His award-winning work can be found on numerous magazines, comics, and book publications, and also CD packages. Some of his well-known national and international artwork publications include: "Fangoria," "X-files," "Third Alternative," "EFX," "Tear," "Outburn," "Dark Realms," and many others. This year, Bohatch was nominated for the British Fantasy awards, for his outstanding dark artwork.

Bohatch's online project: "Eyes of Chaos"

An exclusive interview with Mike Bohatch



+ review by Adriana de Barros | credits