b. 1972
Michael Banks was born to a single mother in a housing project in northern Alabama. As a child, Banks loved to draw and paint on anything he could find. People wondered how such a young child seemed to have such a strong artistic flair.

His mother both encouraged him to make art and warned of the difficulties. He created in obscurity until 1992 when his mother died. For five years, Banks fell into a deep depression and could not paint.

Finally, he remembered the hope and encouragement his mother gave him and started to paint again. The grief soon lifted.

Michael says that he paints because it keeps him alive, he must paint in order to survive.