Michele Smith
Guild Member Salon Show
encouraging nature. They are motivating and informative. Ardith Goodwin, Patrick Wise, and Heidi Marshall are her favorite instructors. Ardith Goodwin was all about no limits, no rules... just experiment—very exciting. The message from Patrick Wise was to look and paint what you see, with an eye for color value. Heidi Marshall ’s plein air class caused her to have a breakthrough moment , finally perceiving the subtle nuances of the landscape color values. Early in life, she enjoyed visiting art museums and has been inspired by the beauty and variety of fine art ever since. She adores Georgia O’Keeffe, even though that is not her personal style. She admires classic impressionists and aspires to paint in that manner. Beautiful landscapes draped in subtle light and color are a primary source of inspiration to her. Spending time painting in a lovely natural setting has been surprisingly profound. Capturing that experience with paint is very fulfilling. She most often paints landscapes using oils. She looks for captivating settings with beautiful light. The setting could be a beautiful sunset or an eerie wooded area... the more personality, the better. She tends to stylize the space, creating a unique perspective. She gravitates towards vivid colors to accentuate mother nature’s natural beauty. For variety, she also paints florals and animals. She strives to create artwork that provokes viewer emotions or creates the feeling that you may have been there. CONTACT: dyls9116@aol.com, (248) 421- 6088. 7351 Channel Road, Petoskey, MI 49770.
“Big Sur,” Oil on Canvas, 2019, 11 x 17 in, $300. I visited Big Sur along the coast of California in 2019. I was very moved by its brutal beauty. The strong light produced turquoise waters with deep, intriguing shadows that clashed with the rugged red rocks. I knew this would be the subject of an upcoming
Michele Smith ABOUT: Michele Smith has enjoyed painting since she was a young teen. She elected art classes to fill her Humanities requirements when she was in college. Painting has been her passion since then. Work and family obligations prevented full-time immersion until she retired. She had the good fortune to join Paint Creek Center for the Arts (PCCA), in Rochester, MI in the mid-1990s. This allowed her to advance her painting techniques by taking night classes. Now she is a member of Crooked Tree Art Center ’s Artist Studio and Artist Guild. She devotes much of her time to painting en plein air (often with the Three Pines Plein Air group) or in her studio. She frequently takes art classes. She finds most art instructors to be motivating because of their talent , love of teaching their craft , and their
“Summer Blues,” Oil on Gessoboard, 11.5 x 13 in, $175. One beautiful summer day, I enjoyed a day of plein air painting. I discovered a planting of bluish flowers, beautifully highlighted by the sun. This became the subject of this painting. Simple and earthy, underscoring the delights of summer.
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