Mike Sirl will be returning to prepare his Homer property for sale and disseminate his collection of paintings and sculpture. He asked for my help. When Sirl lived on Diamond Ridge from 1974 to 2000 he produced a very impressive body of large scale paintings and steel sculptures.  His paintings address life on Kachemak Bay in a wry, witty style. My favorite are drawings on canvas depicting scenes of coaling and fishing. Fabricated from mild steel, his sculptures explore the complexity and paradox of “man in nature” and celebrate the beauty of hand crafted art in an impersonal synthetic world. His works invite touching, learning, conversation, and photography. Sirl’s show/sale will feature about a dozen large paintings and drawings and at least fifty steel sculptures. Sirl has many large-scale public commissions in Alaska including  life-sized bears at the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage. He has showed at Bunnell Street Arts Center, Pratt Museum, the International Gallery of Contemporary Art and a solo show, “Natura Morta” at Anchorage Museum of History and Art.  He now lives and maintains a studio in rural Oregon.  Sirl wants his collection of works made in Alaska to stay in Alaska and benefit the organizations that helped him develop his career and life. Proceeds from this sale benefit Bunnell Street Arts Center. He is reserving sculptures to benefit the Pratt Museum.