LUKE 2:11   "The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!"

Artist Michael Dudash offers up a lovely gift - a pair of beautiful, colorful pieces to grace homes and churches during the Christmas season. "Birth of the King" and "Searching for the King" were painted to hang together and tell in exquisite artistic style, the story of the first Christmas.

Michael Dudash has a terrific imagination which he utilized extensively in this humorous approach to Noah's Ark. He included numerous exotic animals and birds as well as the more familiar domestic varieties. His signs clearly identify which doors serve which animals and many couples have found their own way aboard by piggy backing on larger varieties or by hiding away in carts, baskets or whatever. The sly little foxes got the best deal as they took over a basket that could be raised to their "floor" sort of like an elevator. Viewers will marvel at the variety and number of species and at the creative path some of them took to board. Have fun finding the pairs that have gotten separated. This painting is more than  a piece of art; it's entertainment!

Michael Dudash is recognized nationally for his paintings of dramatic realism bathed in a mixture of light and shadows, creating a romantic atmosphere.
Although a very successful illustrator for many years, in 2002, Dudash began to focus on creating and selling his oil paintings, along with doing commissioned portraiture. Since that time, the artist has had several one-man shows and participated in several group shows in 2004 and 2005.
Dudash has produced over 1,300 illustrations for books, magazines, art publishers, advertising agencies, design firms, film companies, and corporations. Throughout these years of his career, he won numerous awards and is listed in the Illustration House’s “Illustrators in America.” Among Dudash’s many clients have been The Reader’s Digest, The US Postal Service, Time/Life, and Universal Pictures. His original paintings hang in many prominent private and corporate collections.
As an accomplished artist, he has written and published articles for several art industry publications, conducted oil painting and illustration workshops, and has been a guest lecturer at several colleges, universities, and industry organizations.
Dudash, a native of Mankato, Minnesota, was an art major at Macalester College in St. Paul and also at Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minneapolis. Today, the artist enjoys life with his wife and three children in a small town in Pennsylvania where he paints in his home studio.
The artist’s original works are represented in prestigious galleries in America and also internationally.

The inspiration for this painting came from the 4th verse of the 4th chapter of Matthew:

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
I wanted to show the temptation of Christ in a different way. Rather than a flat desert, I chose a lonely spot on a mountain for the first temptation by Satan. It would have been a long, arduous climb to this spot, and Christ would have been hungry and thirsty. His "aloneness" is paramount on the left side of the painting and the glory that is God is represented off to the right. 

Matthew 2:2  "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him."

Artist Michael Dudash offers up a lovely gift - a pair of beautiful, colorful pieces to grace homes and churches during the Christmas season.  "Searching for the King" and "Birth of the King"were painted to hang together and tell, in exquisite artistic style, the story of the first Christmas.

The Art of Michael Dudash