Michelle Hess, M.A

I was over 49 when I took my first painting and figure drawing classes. I never thought of myself as an artist growing up, or even a creative person most of my life, even though I wrote poetry and was very creative in other areas. Even though my teachers affirmed I am an artist, and my peers echoed the sentiment, it took me about two years before I could internalize the label. I am deeply inspired by the groundbreaking work of female modern abstract expressionist artists from the 20th-century, like Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning and Grace Hartigan. When I took art appreciation in college as a teenager, these artists were never mentioned.

In the studio, I am exploring the interactions between ink, acrylic & ephemera to create mixed media works on canvas. The interplay of color, shape and texture is what lights me up.  Within my work, you can see my fascination with the embodiment of color and movement; and in humanizing the female body beyond that of idealized cultural and personal objectification. I come to the studio open to possibilities.

It is these possibilities that inspire me. My creativity is quickened by many diverse things: The bright colors of flowers and birds in nature, the gentle soothing palette of the beach, the sharper lines and strength of the redwoods and mountains, curves and shapes of imperfectly perfect bodies, the depth of soul and expression I see in faces. My art is always in response to something. And it’s deeply visceral, primal and intuitive. It always begins with emotion, whether it’s in response to the siren song of color or beauty I see around me. 

My art is also informed by physical limitations due to damage in my body from neurosurgery. It is ironic that my hands, generally the main tool of an artist, are the most disabled part of my body from the tumor I had in my spinal cord. Yet, I have learned to find freedom from perfectionism with this challenge and even use the lack of dexterity to my advantage in accessing my right-brain.

What People Say

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Let’s create something together.

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