Meet MOW

Michael Gonsalves, also known by the artist name Zeachman, is an American artist and designer based in Maine. His work combines simplified forms, bold color, texture, and familiar imagery to explore ideas of memory, place, growth, humor, and everyday experience.

Born and raised in New England, Gonsalves grew up in Plymouth, New Hampshire, where he later attended Plymouth State University. Shortly after graduating, he moved west to Portland, Oregon, and began working at High Cascade Snowboard Camp, immersing himself in the snowboard community while also working with brands including Atmosphere and Grenade Gloves.

From Oregon, Gonsalves spent several winters in Salt Lake City, Utah, working at Brighton and Park City while continuing to pursue design and snowboarding. During this period, he was offered a position as a graphic designer at Snowboard Magazine, bringing together his background in design with the culture that had surrounded him for much of his life. The opportunity took him to Southern California, where he relocated to San Diego.

His work in action-sports publishing eventually expanded from snowboarding into surfing. After his time at Snowboard Magazine, Gonsalves joined SURFER Magazine, where he was later promoted to Assistant Art Director. Living and working in Southern California introduced surfing and coastal culture more deeply into his creative life and further shaped the visual perspective he would eventually bring to his personal artwork.

Gonsalves' background in graphic design and creative direction has had a strong influence on his approach to painting. His compositions often reduce subjects to their essential shapes, using flat areas of color, graphic silhouettes, imperfect lines, and layered surfaces. Rather than separating fine art from design, his work moves between the two, combining the immediacy of graphic imagery with the physical texture and individuality of painting by hand.

His paintings often begin with ordinary subjects, birds, flowers, figures, animals, objects, landscapes, or symbols and use them as starting points for larger ideas. Humor and simplicity sit alongside themes of change, optimism, nostalgia, and finding meaning in familiar things.

Working primarily with acrylic and mixed media, Gonsalves embraces visible brushwork, texture, irregularities, and other evidence of the handmade process. His work favors character over perfection, allowing simple forms and restrained compositions to carry the story.

After returning to Maine in 2023, Gonsalves began placing a greater focus on his personal art practice and developing Zeachman as the identity surrounding his independent work. His current paintings continue to explore the intersection of art, design, nature, and everyday life while developing a visual language rooted in both contemporary graphic design and the places and experiences that have shaped him.