 Michelle Milburn works from her remote studio in the heart of the Northumbrian countryside exploring the world around her, past and present, using many sources and situations as inspiration for her work.
A self taught artist, Michelle works using vibrant acrylic paints, and bespoke canvases. Michelle has painted all her life, lucky enough to have amazingly talented and encouraging teachers throughout her school life, there has never been a time when she did not paint or draw.
Happily married with a teenage daughter, Michelle has enjoyed huge support from her family and friends when she decided to make a full time career from her painting in 2003. That support has been transferred into a healthy following of collectors. The burning need to paint is evident to all who know Michelle, painting for her is a passion, 'soul fodder' as she calls it!
Having an idyllic childhood growing up on a remote farm in the heart of the Northumbrian countryside surrounded by three generations of her family, Michelle has never been short of inspiration in her work. Spending time visiting relatives in the terraced streets of Tyneside has provided her with unique inspiration for the images she now paints. Always aware of her surroundings Michelle draws on her immediate experiences for much of her paintings, but also the stories and reminiscences of older generations and happy childhood memories. She was lucky enough to really get to know characters just like those she now paints, full of humor and attitude.
Michelle's early work was conspicuously devoid of people, at the time she felt that she was painting from the feeling and emotion that people had left behind in a place, a legacy to being an only child with an active imagination. Encouragement to add the human element to her work has brought about a dynamic change in Michelle's paintings that she simply can't get enough of, 'I usually have a queue of paintings in my head all jostling to be the next one onto canvas!' These days she is joined by a host of quirky characters who literally bound from the canvas. 'It's fabulous when you hear someone trying to stifle a giggle from the back of the gallery, for me art should bring happiness and enjoyment, and if you can throw heartfelt laughter into the mix, then all the better!'
Michelle's paintings have been represented regularly at major Art Fairs around the UK since autumn 2007 and she has been represented at several other art fairs and exhibitions over the past couple of years with a great response. Examples of her work are held in private collections throughout the UK and around the world.
Picture Credit © Tony Griffiths 2009.
All images and text © Michelle Milburn 2010. All rights reserved.
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