Originally from Flint, Michigan, Michelle currently lives and works in the Coastal Plain region of North Carolina. She earned her BFA degree from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton in 1990 when she moved to South Florida and made painting a full time commitment. She has been involved with many different aspects of art, from winning First Place – Best in Show in Ft. Lauderdale’s premier yearly art event, the Hortt at the Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale to teaching free art camps to under-resourced, homeless children in South Florida and orphaned children in Haiti.

She has designed entire lines of art for Tommy Bahama Stores Intl. and wallpaper lines for Nessen Showroom in the Design Center of the Americas in South Florida. She has done all of the art and framing for many hotel installations in Costa Rica, Florida, Thailand, Israel, the Bahamas, the Swarovski Crystal families private estate near Palm Beach as well as many European destinations as she ships worldwide. After moving to North Carolina, she has continued to work in the high-end, Interior Design Industry as well as show in various galleries in and around the Southeastern portion of the US. A more recent project was the 24K leafed sculptural installation aboard the Royal Caribbean’s “Sovereign of the Seas”.

Michelle is known far and wide for her Fine Art Mirrors which are exquisitely framed to enhance and become a focal point of any interior space. Her work tells a story of other times and places and speaks of a marriage between Tuscany’s subdued colors and the influences of the modern world. They suggest the flavor of old Caribbean islands and the evocative luminosity of a Provencal sunset. Perfectly honoring the four seasons, her pieces reflect the textures and shadows found in nature.

“The wood’s grain is my canvas, on which I have performed multiple hand-layered painting techniques to build the distinctive background that is a hallmark of my style. I then sketch my design directly onto this surface, followed by a painstaking application of paints to create colors and textures intrinsic to the piece. The addition of layer upon layer of glazes and varnish consummates the artwork’s depth and translucency producing a stained glass effect.”

Through incorporating the colors of the frames into the painting and accenting the piece with gold or silver leaf, Michelle achieves total unity in design. Each one of her mirrors has its own certificate of authenticity. The exacting techniques Michelle employs along with architectural and artistic adherence to authenticity of the era and locale that each work represents result in a creation of the highest quality that will be treasured for generations to come.

“My real love is the art that nature creates right before us”. Her small scale pieces, which are highly collected floral, birds, butterflies and sea life, are amplified and enlarged so the viewer can experience the energy of her vision. By layering colors and textures and highlighting them with crystal, the image becomes infused with subtle shadows and a dance of light to draw one into each painting. Michelle is inspired by the relatively untouched and plentiful beauty in Central North Carolina. Her paintings of natures creation have a subtle layering of rich earthy colors and the delicate sprinkling of Swarovski crystals add a play of light against form creating a brilliant texture that breathes vibrant life into each and every piece.
Link to Michelle's Website