The works of Craig Dourmashkin will be on the walls of MCE this month.

The gallery at Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship is hosting a new artist for the month of June, displaying mostly portraiture work with an awe-inspiring sentiment of colorful realism.

Maricopa painter Craig Dourmashkin’s 25 years of teaching art and experimenting with different techniques and media have created a uniquely colorful and subtly stylized method that brings a certain sense of magical realism to the canvas.

His striking images bring forth thoughts of an alternate universe where Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born in the post-Vietnam War era and had forfeited the typewriter in place of a paintbrush.

MCE with the help of the Maricopa Arts Council and city officials has gone to great lengths to support Maricopa artists like Dourmashkin.

While some have objected to expending community resources on the arts, others feel it’s crucial to underpin a form of entrepreneurialism that not only helps make the community a diverse and vibrant place, but also makes it a destination for art lovers from the world over.

MCE Director Quintin Baker happens to be one of the latter.

“I believe art is a powerful expression of creativity, and every entrepreneur needs creativity to turn their dreams into reality,” Baker said.  “Much like art, business formation takes commitment, patience, consistency, improvement, and perspectives of others.”

Efforts to bolster the arts in Maricopa were underway at MCE before Baker came aboard last fall. He plans to further support and promote artists like Dourmashkin for as long as possible.

Dourmashkin’s exhibit will be on display for the entire month of June, and a special reception will be held Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the MCE gallery in their office at 20800 N. John Wayne Parkway, Suite 108.