Sculptor Michael Barlow is wealthy with passion, for his wife Sandy and their three children, for his art, for the great outdoors, and for big game wildlife. He is an internationally renowned artist, both for his sculpture and his wildlife photography, and his artwork is represented nationally in several prestigious galleries.

A Wyoming native, Barlow grew up out West, where life seems larger. Both his environment and his genetic makeup fostered the artist he is today. He spent his childhood hunting and fishing and modeling in clay while his landscape artist father painted. Barlow's passion for wilderness and wildlife were formed early on in his life, and they have grown with him as he has traveled the world.

A graduate of the university of Wyoming , Barlow started traveling extensively after he completed college. His travels in Africa, China , India , Nepal , and his own North America fed his childhood fascination for big game. In the 1980s, Barlow began taking his wildlife photography seriously, making it his first professional artistic career. His wildlife photographs have appeared on the covers of numerous publications, most notably Outdoor Life and Field and Stream magazines.

In Africa, Barlow has traveled frequently to East Africa, Kenya , South Africa , Tanzania , and Zimbabwe . In earlier years, he worked as a river rafting and photo safari guide; he helped establish Kenya`s first white-water rafting on the Ahti River. Barlow made the switch from photography to sculpture in the late 1990s. As his family grew, Barlow found himself wanting to spend more time at home with them. He also noticed that the elk charges got closer each year when he was in the field photographing. His wildlife encounters were, Barlow says, "wonderful, yet sometimes terrifying."

To reveal the true nature of his wildlife subjects, Barlow strives to make his sculptures anatomically correct: "I work to make my sculpture anatomically accurate, to bring it a sense of vibrancy, and to place it in a classic context. I want to communicate the majesty of these animals and how much I love my subjects," says Barlow. His years as a professional wildlife photographer served him well and gave him a foundation for the sculpture that was to follow. He works to express the strength and power of the animals he sculpts: "They're so big and powerful," says Barlow. "That's what I want to show, that incredible, majestic strength."

Though Barlow has traveled the world, he is a homeboy at heart. His favorite places in the world are all North American,the Rockies, Alaska , and Yellowstone and Denali National Parks , but East Africa is certainly on the top of his list as well. Barlow resides with his family in Livingston , Montana .