Mike prefers to work from life. He feels the photograph flattens the figure, and his ideas require a more sculptural approach. He takes a large flat brush and using cobalt blue, sketches in the basic shapes of his carefully worked out composition, adding details from the subject as the image emerges. These lines are very descriptive, sometimes creating the entire side of the figure or architectural element in one stroke of the brush.

So bold and beautiful are the lines themselves, that he often chooses to leave them in the finished piece. His watercolors and gouaches show each powerful stroke very clearly.

 Mike usually completes his pieces in one session. This is a fortuitous habit since he works from live models but, strangely enough, that's not his primary motive. His images are composed in his mind before he even touches the canvas. The model and environment energize his vision with the vitality, immediacy, and subtlety found in the completed work. To the observer this frantic flurry of activity (interspersed with pacing, mutterings, and grunts, as if he's having an argument with himself) is an amazing sight to behold. Not nearly as amazing, however, as the paintings which are produced.

 Color is subjective for Mike Young. Grass isn't necessarily green, and shadows may be filled with a myriad of pure hues in juxtaposition with one another. He feels that color, like every other element in a painting isn't dictated by nature or fashion, but by the artist's design. He chooses to exploit the expressive qualities of color in his paintings. Shades created by a color and gray can create a somber feeling. Tints from white plus another color give the impression of light and serenity. Pure colors, dabbed directly on the canvas from the tube make a joyous, carefree statement. His palette includes cobalt blue, cerulean blue, Indian red, alizarin crimson, viridian, yellow ochre, Paynes gray, white, and cobalt violet.