A Painted Life

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Rio Grande Gorge, Taos, NM 1993

Some years ago a good friend gave us a copy of the book Draw: Quotidian Lines by artist and architect Michael James Plautz. Plautz was most recognized as a founding partner of the international architectural firm RSP Architects, based in Minneapolis, but we learned about him from his book, a compilation of wonderful on-location drawings and watercolor paintings he created from his travels around the world.

His explorations began when he received the prestigious Paris Prize upon graduation from architecture school in 1967. The Prize funds its winners with a year of European travel. Throughout his life Plautz went on to spend time in Japan, southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Rwanda. For over twenty-five years, while teaching at the University of Illinois, he led architecture students on European tours.

Plautz died in 2012, but left behind a legacy of wonderful drawings and paintings from his life. Included in his…