For this week’s cover, featuring TIME’s 2025 compilation of the 100 most impactful climate figures, we engaged an artist renowned for “painting with sunlight.”
Michael Papadakis, the artist, dedicated ten days in Boise, Idaho, to produce the TIME cover, relying almost exclusively on sunlight, various magnifying glasses, and extensive meticulous planning. His technique entails charting the sun’s trajectory, computing angles, drafting outlines, and strategizing the light’s movement across the material. Subsequently, he deliberately positions a glass precisely so that the sun scorches the image onto an unprimed 24×31-inch wooden panel.
“The sun offers no retakes. Once it descends, the creative endeavor must pause,” clarified Papadakis, an alumnus of San Francisco State University’s fine arts program, via email. “Some days bring howling winds, others stiffen hands with cold, or insects might creep over the canvas, yet I perceive these not as impediments but as instructors. Nature dictates the rhythm, and I merely adapt. This work requires attentiveness, modesty, and fortitude.”
He uncovered this unique skill during his travels through Central Asian mountains in 2012. By chance, he had a small magnifying glass with him when he observed sunlight interacting with a piece of wood in a captivating manner: “At that very moment, I realized I had discovered not merely an instrument, but a purpose.” He established his company, , in the same year. “From that day forward, my perception of the sun fundamentally changed,” he remarked. “It evolved into both my creative ally and my guide, a companion that persistently reveals the potential when artistic expression converges with unadulterated white light.”
“Occasionally, I journey in search of light; at other times, I bide my time, readying everything for its reappearance,” Papadakis noted further. He has partnered with numerous brands, spanning from Anheuser-Busch to 20th Century Fox, and his art has been featured on CNN, NBC, CBS, and Fox. “Patience is the unseen, vital instrument. The sun invariably returns, and when it does, I am prepared to greet it.”
Given his extensive contemplation of our planet’s light and heat source, it is logical that Papadakis considers climate change. “It represents the Earth communicating with us,” he stated. “Sustainability is not a static concept; it is an active process, an endeavor, a cadence, a practice of moderation. It concerns less the type of energy we consume and more the manner and timing of its use. My artwork serves as a reflection on this principle: to engage with the light while it is present, to pause when it departs, and to uphold the equilibrium between productivity and repose.”
