Australian artist Michelle Wardley emerged as a self-taught artist from her humble beginnings in a small market stall in Perth in late 1996. Michelle's works unfold as a visual and literary reflection of her life travels as a solo musician & nomadic artist, painting with a palette knife, the unique coastlines of Australia, Indonesia & beyond. Michelle's brushless impasto style paintings, find homes all over the world. Her vibrant ocean scape & natural scene oil paintings have won several art awards & she has experienced vast media exposure. With no formal training, Michelle slipped into her artistic career on a whim with a desire to become a professional musician. She has created & independently sold over 3000 unique artworks from a vast range of locations in her 18 years as fine artist. Michelle's artwork is inspired by & reflects her personal experiences of her nomadic lifestyle, travelling the Australian continent & indo pacific, venturing by land & sea including 5 years living aboard a sailing catamaran voyaging from the east coast of Australia through to Western Australia via the southern coasts of the Indonesian archipelago. With an obvious passion for natural environments, natural phenomenon & water features predominantly as a theme in Michelle's paintings vividly capturing, with brilliant colours in a high contrast spontaneous energetic style, using Art Spectrum oil paints on hardboard & self-stretched Belgian linen canvas. They depict daily moments of splendour we rarely notice or take the time to acknowledge in our busy lives. "I aim to create living artworks to bring us back to the moment, to slow down, to just stop & get back in touch with nature. There is a universal subconscious language of colour that permeates my works, which triggers certain reactions in people. It used in psychotherapy, advertising, alternative therapies, sport, historical symbolism & other applications. The energy & intent that goes into creating the artwork brings something special, that stays with the piece & simply makes a painting come alive. As an artist it is a very therapeutic process." Michelle's reflective technique draws a wide audience & the success of her artwork is partly ascribed to her unconventional approach of exhibiting & promoting her work. Michelle has become a very public artist, focusing her artistic career not at making it into 'the galleries', but exposing her art where anyone can see it so it can "affect and inspire". "People some people perceive the whole art scene as pretentious & stuffy. Walking into a gallery can sometimes be very intimidating. I've always exhibited my works in places we all go from hair salons to restaurants, fuel stations, craft shops, small grocery stores, markets, and festivals or anywhere that reflects a positive affect I feel comfortable with." Originally displaying her artworks at a weekend market stall in Subiaco Perth, Michelle created during the week at Rottnest Island whilst camping in a tent. Living a humble life, trekking the island, Michelle painted small raw artworks on the field, in the alfresco plein air style reflected upon her from hear teachings in high school of the Australian and French Impressionists’. From the markets her art moved on when Michelle set up her first home studio gallery in Fremantle where she held her first professional solo exhibition. Since then she has had many home studio galleries in Western Australia including Trigg, Exmouth, Broome, Monkey Mia, Dampier & Port Neill in South Australia. Her artwork has featured in many other venues, galleries, festivals, shows, competitions, exhibitions & artist residencies including Fremantle, Cottesloe Blue Duck Cafe, Sorrento Hillary's Boat Harbour, Geraldton ACDC Gallery, Karratha Pilbara Art Gallery, Tom Price Nameless festival, Paraburdoo, Victoria Park Art Centre, York Art Gallery, Rottnest Island Festival, Mandurah markets, Perth Royal Show, Port Lincoln Art Gallery Nautilus Theatre, Coffin Bay Markets and many country shows to name a few. Michelle's only formal training in art, during high school & units in printmaking & drawing during her Diploma studies in Horticulture. She learned a broad spectrum of basic techniques in many mediums. From screen printing, ink drawing, acid plate etching, sculpture, painting in acrylics, water colours and Michelle's favourite chosen medium, oils. Art history of a range of styles including cubism, surrealism, pop art, Australian Impressionism, and artists such as Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton, appealed to Michelle & have greatly inspired her style. "Art was never a career choice for me, art was a subject I took in school as a break from the serious subjects including English Literature, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology & computer studies. Art was fun, a vent, not a career option. I never considered studying it seriously." "I usually write a small description or story about the moments that inspired the work. I prefer to operate on more of a personal level with my customers. I think they appreciate understanding a little bit about what’s behind the painting." Michelle continues to independently exhibit the majority of her works, making the most of opportunities for display venues during her travels by finding niches to expose and involve people in the journey physically & online. Find out more or contact Michelle by Phone 0428275279 Personal Virtual portfolio & online gallery www.michellewardley.com Other Websites www.facebook.com/natural.ocean.art www.twitter.com/michellewardley www.facebook/michelle.wardley www.yahoo.com/oceanart Thanks for showing your support by your interest See more at: http://www.michellewardley.com
