His work is of futuristic urban areas devoid of trees and life. It’s almost bleak and chaotic, but upon closer look there’s movement, a collaboration of culture through architecture, depth and above all color.

His works are a commentary on sprawl and the future of architecture. "My paintings and prints could be seen as imaginary architectural proposals or illustrations of ‘Yesterday’s Tomorrows,’ that is, the ‘City of the Future’ that did not quite work out," he says.

Local artist Michael Dal Cerro of Lyndhurst recently received the New Jersey State Council on the Arts 2008 Artists’ Fellowship grant of $12,000 for his work in woodblock print under the "Works on Paper" category. He is one of 30 recipients out of the 350 artists who applied.

Dal Cerro, who has been woodblock printing since 1985, describes his work as a relief process much like the Japanese woodblock art. "My woodblock prints are made from multiple color blocks and one black key block," he says. Each work typically takes four blocks to achieve its depth and color.

His work is created first by carving a piece of wood, placing the wood in ink or paint and then putting it on the paper to create the image he wants. "It’s printing as opposed to painting," he says, although he points out that he prefers woodblock printing over other forms of printing because of its similarities to painting. These similarities lie in the use of color and the production of a strong graphic image.

Dal Cerro has started to gain attention through the years as he sends his work to galleries and museums that hold open shows.

"You really have to go and sell your work," he explains.

He is looking to produce work that is the not only the best use of his medium, but will also reach the average person and not just other artists.

"The message is secondary," he adds.

Dal Cerro sent eight JPEG computer images to the New Jersey State Council as part of the application process. From there, the work was sent to the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation in Baltimore, the organization that scores grant applications for not only Maryland and New Jersey but also Pennsylvania and Delaware, according to Don Ehman, member of the Artists’ Services Unit of the New Jersey Arts Council. The submissions are judged by a group of panelists who rate each work on a scale of one to five, five being the highest. The scores of each piece are averaged. The scores are then sent back to the New Jersey Arts Council where they are assessed for how much money each score should receive.

According to Ehman, three artists who applied for the Artists’ Fellowship grant received a high score of five, including Dal Cerro. The New Jersey Arts Council decided that those three artists would receive a sum of $12,000.

In addition to receiving the Artists’ Fellowship grant, Dal Cerro received the National Endowment for the Arts grant for painting in 1987 and also recently returned from an artist’s residency in the Frans Masereel Center in Belgium.

Dal Cerro plans to use the grant money to continue creating his artwork by allowing him to spend more time in the studio in his home and buying the necessary art supplies for woodblock printing.