Michael J. Hipps is a native Mississippian with so much energy and intensity about what he is doing that at times one finds it difficult to keep up.  His paintings display the excitement and freshness of a young, emerging artist whose subject, approaches and techniques vary with a common thread of focus on color strength.  Subjects vary from tangible to ambiguous with color seen first and images secondary, to the non-tangible "subject" where color strength and balance is the primary focus.
With the exception of guidance from Nancy Schiderman whom Hipps says instilled in him the ethic "Be true to yourself and what you perceive", Michael is basically a "self taught" artist.  He believes "All existence is art in progress, it depends on your perspective and drive, and painting is merely one way of representing this truth".