Short Bio
I am a self-taught abstract artist. Art fell into my lap when I needed a coping mechanism for my mental illness. In doing so it opened up so many doors in my mind and released potential I didn't know I had!
Biography
Michelle is an artist who represents the proud face of bipolar disorder. She began painting in May of 2023 to cope with her illness. Michelle often has manic episodes that produce a barrage of thoughts which can be very overwhelming. Having no artistic training she began to release the thoughts onto the canvas. At first, she wasn't happy with her creations, and found herself boxed in when trying to adapt a style seen in other artists’ works. Michelle found herself stuck in a place that didn't enable growth, instead it closed doors where potential was hiding. Michelle found that once she let go of the notion that her work needed to flow in the style of other artists, she was able to release the potential she didn't know existed within her mind. During manic episodes Michelle has been known to create several pieces in tandem without giving much thought to her idea of the outcome. One of her collectors likes to refer to her work as "beautifully chaotic". Michelle feels that her work provides a visual representation of bipolar disorder to those not suffering with the illness when words are not enough to truly convey an empathetic view. Michelle is frequently inspired by music, raw emotion, and spiraling thoughts. As often happens in manic episodes, when Michelle’s mind is traveling so fast it's hard to focus she tends to just let the piece evolve using whatever technique is 'soothing' at the time. Looking closely at Michelle's portfolio reveals a rapidly changing mindset with pieces ranging from dark and chaotic to bright and slightly more "calm”. Many people suffering from mental illnesses find it difficult to reveal that they have an illness at all, Michelle wears the illness on her sleeve and likes to think she's the voice of many who are too timid to embrace what they cannot change.
