Michael Lynch was born in Denver, Colorado, and showed an interest in the arts at an early age. With a move to Chicago in the mid-1960s, he was able to experience the variety of work at the Chicago Art Institute. He was particularly taken by the work of American impressionists.

After receiving his college degree in 1972, Lynch moved to Washington, D.C., where he lived for three years, traveling extensively throughout the United States and abroad. Returning to Colorado in 1976, Lynch became acquainted with a group of artists and launched his full-time painting career.

Lynch also has an extensive resumé both as a lecturer on, and teacher of, the practice of outdoor painting. His subject matter includes portraits, figures, still-life and cityscapes as well as landscape and marine. His work can be found in many private and corporate collections throughout the United States, Europe and Japan.