“Under the Pillow” by Michele Bledsoe
No one rolls out of bed one day
and decides to be an artist..
you were meant to be one.
Even if you don’t answer the call for many years
it has always been there
inside you
waiting.
“Assemblage”… a work in progress by Michele Bledsoe
Although I have been exhibiting my work in galleries
for almost 20 years..
I have more or less dropped out of the public eye.
This does not mean
I have stopped painting..
that would be impossible.
The desire to create cannot be contained.
The work continues
behind closed doors
as constant
and as passionate
as the beating of my heart.
“Portrait of Munchkin Giggle-Sprinkles” by Michele Bledsoe
Recently, I put aside my work in progress..
and ignored a looming deadline
to pour myself into a special request –
A portrait of my sister’s beloved cat
who passed away last year.
This is what art is all about.
Not the galleries and the exhibits.
Not the personal attention
and public exposure…
it’s about the gift
and what you choose to do with it.
“The Ghost and My Obsession” by Michele Bledsoe
Several years ago I was sitting at my desk
in my high-level corporate job
and I had a terrifying vision.
I imagined myself far in the future
sitting at the same desk..
doing exactly the same thing
and wondering to myself
what life would have been like
if I had decided to pursue my art instead.
Not long after that, I quit my job..
and let my path take me to where I was meant to be
instead of where I thought I should go.
In life, as in art
we must be fearless.
Trust the gift.
A work in progress by Michele Bledsoe
I am often surprised
when people have a hard time identifying
what is going on in my paintings.
It happens a lot.
“What is that… a face?”
they would ask..
squinting at my work.
“Is that part of a tree…?
I didn’t understand
why not everyone could see what I was seeing..
But, then again..
I suppose it would be somewhat disorienting
to find yourself thrust
without warning
into the deepest places
of a stranger’s heart.
Such is the power of art.
It’s hard to paint with a cat in your lap.
Many years ago I painted a portrait of my sister
for her Christmas present.
I am a slow painter.
If I remember correctly…
I started that painting
many months before Christmas
giving myself time
to linger over my work.
“Portrait of Sherry” by Michele Bledsoe
This Christmas
my sister asked for another portrait.
Not of herself,
but one of her beloved cat, Munchkin
who passed away this year..
leaving me 6 days to finish the painting.
6 days.
As of today, it is 5.
Did I decline her request?
Did I make excuses?
Did I explain that I simply had too many other things to do before Christmas?
No.
I just grabbed a blank canvas and started painting.
“Frozen Zoo” by Michele Bledsoe
I have a very distinct palette…
a range of colors that I use
every time I paint.
Raw umber
Chromium Oxide Green
Cobalt Blue
Turner’s Yellow
Red Oxide
Raw Sienna..
to name a few.
I know these colors intimately;
How they react to each other..
all their moods
and subtleties..
I know them like I know
the landscape of my own heart.
But, when I started work on my painting Frozen Zoo
I did something outrageously impulsive
and decided to use a new color.
Not just a little taste of it..
not just dipping my toe in the water..
Instead, I stared at that strange tube of paint in front of me
and decided to cover a huge portion of my canvas with it.
That was my introduction to Prussian Blue.
A tremendous leap of artistic faith..
it was an epic struggle
to incorporate this alien color into my familiar palette.
It did weird things
when I mixed it with raw umber.
Is that a hint of green I see?
Yellow?
I never realized that blue could be so warm.
Flailing about and lost in unfamiliar territory
I refused to back down.
By the time the painting was completed
Prussian Blue was like an old friend..
battle tested and true,
it is a welcome addition
to my comfortable palette.
There is no place for cowardice in art.
