Vaughn Michael

Vaughn Michael Hanley (Born January 3, 1980), more commonly known as Vaughn Michael, is an American painter, make up artist, and musician. He is recognized for his use of bright colors, and cartoonish style. He is known for his design work for Club Party Monster, and his make up work for Marilyn Manson.

Childhood

Vaughn Michael was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents had him when they were 19 years old, and struggled to make ends meet. Vaughn's father had dreamed of becoming an artist but never pursued it. His mother was also creative, wanting to be a poet and writer, but she also did not pursue it. His grandfather also was a talented artist.

Vaughn had a physically abusive father, and a mentally abusive mother. He was also sexually abused at a YMCA summer camp, causing him to greatly distrust people. When he was three years old, his parents divorced. Vaughn lived with his mother, who hired a nanny to help watch him. He spent long periods of his childhood watching television, especially Sesame Street, and The Muppet Show. His parents began buying him Muppet merchandise, which helped fuel his attachment for the works of Jim Henson, which became an inspiration for Vaughn's future artworks.

Vaughn struggled in school, he did not want to learn what he was being taught, but instead wanted to create his own world. He was a quiet child, and was constantly bullied, but he found solace in his drawings. In his teenage years, Vaughn began rebelling, and had a reputation as the class clown. He got into trouble at school, but had made friends, and became more accepted by his peers.

At 17, Vaughn began attending a vocational school along with his private Christian high school. He began working on commercial art at this school, and he began to feel more accepted, making life long friends. Around this time, he had his first crush on another boy. His mother discovered his journal, and had outed him to his entire family. Over time, his family became more accepting of his homosexuality. He also began frequenting a local goth club called Ceremony, which was his first experience with club life.

Young Adulthood and Early Career

Vaughn's parents pushed him into attending art school after graduating from high school. He didn't feel it was necessary, but grudgingly began attending the Pittsburgh Technical Institute for graphic design. He later transferred to the Oakbridge Academy of the Arts, where he graduated from with a Associate's Degree in graphic design and photography.

He continued spending his nights at Ceremony, and became well known for being bright and colorful, in such a dark scene. He made a friend there, and they formed "[...] God Pill," a music experiment that Vaughn had been trying to create since high school. On his 21st birthday, his mother was in a traumatic car accident, which almost left her dead. That same night, he was almost molested at a local gay bar.

With no job, and no more financial support from his mother, Vaughn moved in with his father in The SouthSide of Pittsburgh. Vaughn and his father fought constantly, but he still managed to continue being involved in the club scene, and hold down a job at a salon. He became very interested in fashion, make up, and photography, and would develop new make up styles while at work.

During this time, Vaughn fell in love with a make up artist and decided to move with him to Texas, in 2002.

Make up Artist

Life in Texas was mundane for Vaughn, so he kept busy by doing paintings, and setting up photo shoots to showcase his make up artistry. He also began designing websites, including a fan site for Marilyn Manson. Manson found the website, and invited Vaughn to Los Angeles, California, where he lived in Manson's guest house.

Vaughn worked as Manson's personal assistant, and was excited to be able to go to his photo shoots, and see his artwork in person. He also got to work alongside photographers like Perou and Gottfried Helnwein. Vaughn got to do Marilyn Manson's make up for photo shoots, including some well known pictures. However, Vaughn missed his boyfriend, who was still in Texas, and was constantly depressed. When Vaughn's work with Manson had finished, he returned to Texas, but only to find that his relationship had suffered greatly.

Vaughn and his partner decide to move to Los Angeles together, as an attempt to stay together. It took awhile for Vaughn to find a job, and after a few months, they broke up. Meanwhile, Vaughn had been coming up with more make up IDeaS than ever, and had been meeting a lot of people. His work became bolder and brighter. He got involved with an event called Club Party Monster. He designed an improved flier for their parties and became heavily involved with Club Party Monster as a designer, makeup artist, photographer and promoter.

Recently

After a series of distrustful roommates, Vaughn eventually lost his apartment, and ended up sleeping on a friend's couch. He was still very popular in the club scene but began to get an ego. He became argumentative with everybody, and got into a fight with his roommate. A producer friend took Vaughn in, and he moved in the mountains of California, leaving his club life behind.

Vaughn had just settled into his new life, when he decided to return to Pittsburgh and visit his family for a month. However, Vaughn became ill, having bleeding stomach ulcers, and ended up staying in Pittsburgh for 3 years. He decided to make the most of it, and continued working on his art. He has since been creating a series of paintings call "Abstract Realism". He got an overnight job, and his health improved over time.

Vaughn is currently working on creating new music, as well as custom Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, some of which were for the creators of the series. He and an assistant are also working on a series of creatures called "Cronsters" which are going to become books, and plush toys. Vaughn also is planning a comic book series, and a book AbOUT his life. He continues to work on his custom make up looks, and has a photography book planned for the future.

References

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