Michael Robert Bayham Sr. was born, raised, and educated in New Orleans, La.

Bayham was influenced at an early age by his mother, who was a wonderful pianist, singer, and color coordinator. Encouraged by her, Mike learned to play drums at an early age. He started by playing on pots and pans with wooden spoons while she played the piano. They played well enough to get into several local bands, and they had a semi professional career together for 15 years.

Bayham also did some color graphic work as a teenager. Again he was influenced by his mother. In this case it was by doing landscape design work for her, mainly replanting rose bushes and other flowering shrubs, to get the right balance of color. As a result, Mike eventually did landscape design work for a living.

Having no formal art training, Bayham started painting in 2011. He was influenced by biographies and documentaries about famous artists, including Pollock, DeKooning, Picasso and Matisse. He was struck by Fauvism, abstract expressionism, color field painting, geometric design, and minimalism.

Today Bayham works with acrylic on canvas, paper, and ceramics as he continues to expand his thinking and appreciation for a wide variety of subjects.