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Born in Fort Dix, NJ in 1962, Michael Ladd spent most of his childhood in Galveston County, Texas. He began drawing at the age of 10. Since his family couldn’t afford to purchase a musical instrument in order to fulfill a strong desire to express himself musically, ‘a number 2 pencil became his instrument of expression’. Michael won an art scholarship in 1980 as a senior, but his interest shifted to the military and he entered the Marine Corps after high school. Military duties quickly put a hold on his art practice, and he put the pencil down for nearly 22 years. Michael's artistic pursuits resumed after he retired from military service, when he attended the University of Maryland, University College. He exhibited his work in various Faculty/Student and special venues, placed first in various categories at a VA competition, and worked as an art vendor at several local jazz festivals. After receiving a B.S. in Computer Studies/Art in 2005, Michael established LADDART as a business, and worked as the art instructors’ assistant at the University for about six years. He opened a studio in Hughesville, MD in 2008, but closed it temporarily when he enrolled at the San Francisco Academy of Art University in 2010. Michael received an MFA in Painting/Mixed Media from AAU in 2016, and he resumed his LADDART business upon graduation. His artistic focus is on helping wounded veterans by expressing the internal effects of life in the military through abstract expression. |