Michael Kemper was born in Oklahoma city to a British mother and Native American father. Growing up in the flatlands, Kemper responded to the inquiry of what we wanted to be when he grew up with the sureness that might be expected of a child. There had already been a Tarzan, but his bucket of plastic animals assured him he would be a veterinarian. Later, with a new dad who picked a mean guitar and through the guidance of his grandmother, Kemper found a violin at his disposal and knew his destiny was to be that of a virtuoso. The voluminal bliss of being part of a full orchestra did not keep trouble from his heels. Mischief was his playmate. So, Kemper's mother enlisted him in tennis. His groundstrokes improved over the years, but he found his love in creating things. Aspiring to draw as well as his sister and with the support of his high school art teacher and mother Kemper spent three summers at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute which led him to believe that he might foster such an affection. After receiving a bachelor's degree in fine arts with a split major of ceramics and painting at the Kansas City Art Institute, he studied printmaking in post graduate work at the university of Oklahoma and photography at Napa Valley College. His refuge, garden, and studio are in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where he continues to dream.