Artist Statement
Michelle at Phoenix Art Space studio.
Photo by Manel Ortega
My work draws upon my longstanding interests in contemplative practices and abstract art. With painting, I am intrigued by the dynamic relationship between colour and feeling, and how the simplest of images triggers an immediacy of response.
It fascinates me how humans are emotionally affected by imagery that is not figurative or representational in nature. What goes on? Why and how are we impacted in such particular ways? I ask these questions of myself and the viewer.
When working, I am constantly in relationship with the painting, responding to colour by how it makes me feel. I make work in series or themes, which allows me to set boundaries for a project. Some paintings are many-layered, reflecting how they evolved over time. Other pieces are born complete, although these are a rare species that flow through me only when stars seem to align or I’m delightfully shred of all self-consciousness.
More often than not, the process is not straightforward and different every time. I might start a painting in warm tones, for example, then feel completely out of sync with those colours the next time I'm in the studio. That work will then be put aside or painted over. This used to frustrate me until I realised that my work is about visceral expression, so choosing the right colour to work with 'in the moment' is an essential part of the process.
I am interested in how the viewer responds to the work: what one sees in a painting, and how it resonates. It's as if pictures have the power to tell their own stories, which are projected onto them by the viewer. One of my favourite quotes, which highlights the link between subjective experience, in the general sense, and how one approaches a work of art, is from the painter and writer John Berger:
"We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves. Our vision is continually active, continually moving, continually holding things in a circle around itself, constituting what is present to us as we are" (Ways of Seeing, 1972).
It fascinates me how humans are emotionally affected by imagery that is not figurative or representational in nature. What goes on? Why and how are we impacted in such particular ways? I ask these questions of myself and the viewer.
When working, I am constantly in relationship with the painting, responding to colour by how it makes me feel. I make work in series or themes, which allows me to set boundaries for a project. Some paintings are many-layered, reflecting how they evolved over time. Other pieces are born complete, although these are a rare species that flow through me only when stars seem to align or I’m delightfully shred of all self-consciousness.
More often than not, the process is not straightforward and different every time. I might start a painting in warm tones, for example, then feel completely out of sync with those colours the next time I'm in the studio. That work will then be put aside or painted over. This used to frustrate me until I realised that my work is about visceral expression, so choosing the right colour to work with 'in the moment' is an essential part of the process.
I am interested in how the viewer responds to the work: what one sees in a painting, and how it resonates. It's as if pictures have the power to tell their own stories, which are projected onto them by the viewer. One of my favourite quotes, which highlights the link between subjective experience, in the general sense, and how one approaches a work of art, is from the painter and writer John Berger:
"We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves. Our vision is continually active, continually moving, continually holding things in a circle around itself, constituting what is present to us as we are" (Ways of Seeing, 1972).
Biography
Photo by Manel Ortega
For my exhibition history, see Exhibitions.
Education
2011 Fine Art FdA, University of Brighton
2010 Art Foundation BTEC, CCB, Brighton
2008 Art & Design NCFE, CCB, Brighton
2008 Humanistic Counselling certificate, Gestalt Centre, London
2002 7307 Certificate in Teaching, City & Guilds, CCB, Brighton
2001 Yoga Teacher Training certificate, sVYASA, Bangalore, India
2000 BA (Hons) Visual Culture, University of Brighton
Education
2011 Fine Art FdA, University of Brighton
2010 Art Foundation BTEC, CCB, Brighton
2008 Art & Design NCFE, CCB, Brighton
2008 Humanistic Counselling certificate, Gestalt Centre, London
2002 7307 Certificate in Teaching, City & Guilds, CCB, Brighton
2001 Yoga Teacher Training certificate, sVYASA, Bangalore, India
2000 BA (Hons) Visual Culture, University of Brighton