Michael Hoeweler is a New York-based illustrator specializing in vibrant, realistic portraits and lifestyle work made for editorial, publishing, advertising, and corporate clients.

Bluegill Days
2026
Garden & Gun
Art Direction: Julia Knetzer
Selected work

Selected Work

Info

Hello! I’m Michael Hoeweler, a New York metro area-based lifestyle illustrator.

I grew up in and around Cincinnati, Ohio, where I spent my childhood drawing velociraptors, humpback whales, and my favorite Legend of Zelda characters. I studied visual art and art history in high school at the School for Creative and Performing Arts before pursuing an illustration degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. After graduating, I moved to New York City, where I established my studio practice as an illustrator working for editorial, publishing, advertising, and corporate clients. Today, I work from my home studio just outside of New York City in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where I live with my partner Billy and our cats, Clementine and Theodore.

In my work, I balance realistic rendering with design sensibility, delicate line work with vivid color palettes, and both traditional and digital media approaches. My illustrations cover a broad array of subjects, from aspirational lifestyles to culture and entertainment, LGBTQ+ identity, plant and animal life, food and dining, health and wellbeing, and elevated portraiture. The hallmark themes of my work are compassionate depictions of the human experience, a deep reverence for the natural world, and a nod towards the surreal and dreamlike.

In addition to being an illustrator, I’m an educator with the Illustration MFA program at the Fashion Institute of Technology, an LGBTQ+ community advocate with Bloomfield Pride, a testicular cancer survivor, and a (neophyte) gardener.

Michael’s work has been honored by American Illustration, The Society of Illustrators, The Society for News Design, and The Society of Publication Designers. 

Clients include The Washington Post, GQ, , The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Vox, Samsung, Penguin Random House, The National Park Service, ESPN, Eater, Pentagram, Politico, TIME, Abrams Books, Forbes, Priest + Grace, Le Monde, Brooks Brothers, Smithsonian Magazine, Barron’s, Bon Appétit, Out Magazine, Variety Magazine, The New York Times, and more.

Website by Sam Kittinger.

Contact

Michael is represented in North America and the UK with SNYDER, by his agent, Kristina.

To stay up to date with latest work, follow @michaelhoeweler on Instagram and Facebook. For inquiries or additional work samples, email hello@michaelhoeweler.com. To reach by phone, call 718.306.2443.

Curriculum Vitae

No generative artificial intelligence was used to create the work on this website.