Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Blackhawk.
Hi Michelle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I don’t remember a specific moment that I decided to be an artist – I always just felt that I was one. As a child, I frequently received art supplies for birthday or Christmas gifts, classmates would ask me to draw things for them, and I chose to take art classes all through school. I went on to receive a BA in Art, with oil paint as my preferred medium.
Despite all of this, it never occurred to me that I could actually be a “real” artist. No one ever talked to me about running an art business and what that might look like. I graduated from college with no plan to pursue art professionally and ended up with a smattering of different jobs. I got married shortly after graduating and stopped working after the birth of our first son. A couple of years later, after our second son was born, I fully realized how much I had fallen out of any type of regular creative practice. Being a mother is the greatest gift, but I was also deeply missing this creative part of myself.
So in 2018, when I had a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old, I decided to recommit to art. I turned a spare bedroom into a studio and started out by selling prints of my past work and doing a few new drawings, illustrations, and hand-letting. For a while, I had the self-imposed limiting belief that being an oil painter working out of my home with small children was totally impossible. I realized, however, that painting was what I really wanted to be doing, so I did it anyway. It turns out that with a little research and creativity, it is 100% possible. I am so glad to have reconnected with oils and to be able to use them in ways that are safe for everyone in my home.
After I started painting again, I really felt that this is what I was supposed to be doing. I’ve worked to grow my business and client base through offering art in different ways. I release themed collections of my original work, take commissions, work through a gallery, and also create archival quality canvas prints of my paintings that allow my art to be more accessible and available to many more people, including wholesaling to shops around the country. I am just so grateful to be able to do something that I love and that brings more beauty into a world that needs it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I love what I do, but the road hasn’t always been easy. My biggest struggles have been (and are) with managing my time and expectations, and properly balancing and integrating all the different parts of my life. I am a full-time stay-at-home-mom, homeschooling my children and working out of the same bedroom-turned-studio I started in 4 years ago.
I constantly have to evaluate how I’m spending my time and if I’m making prudent choices for both myself and for my family. I end up working a lot of very late nights, but there is a certain peace that can come with that. It’s maybe not a sustainable practice for the long term, but I know that my children won’t be little forever and would rather sacrifice some sleep than the time I have with them.
As I mentioned before, another major setback for me was just not knowing how to start. It all seemed so big and unattainable. I didn’t know how I would have time and space to create, I had to figure out how to safely use oil paints (it is very possible!), and I had to find someone (or many someones) who could help me sift through the business side of things and inspire me when things became daunting. I joined a group for creatives led by one of my favorite modern artists, and it was a game-changer. Both creative community and support from my family, particularly my husband, have been instrumental in getting me to the place I am now.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an impressionistic landscape oil painter. I love light and texture and work to convey a sense of peace, nostalgia, and joy through my work. My inspiration is drawn largely from time spent in nature, especially with my family.
I work from my own reference photos and memories, trying to convey the same feelings that I felt while being in these moments. I intentionally practice savoring experiences and being fully present, which allows me to tuck these memories away in my mind to revisit. This has in turn influenced my style of painting. I use loose, bold brushstrokes and try to maintain some of the initial spontaneity of a piece even as I add more layers and details. I take an impressionistic approach to emphasize that specific moment in time and hope that I can help the viewer feel what it was like and connect with the scene, rather than render an exact replication of it.
My hope is that my work can bring beauty and originality to your spaces. Art can give homes such a personal, unique touch, and I believe that it belongs in places where it can be lived with and appreciated.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I loved a lot of the same things that I love now. I was always drawing or making some kind of art. I loved being outside, especially swimming in the lakes and going on family road trips out West during the summers. I also loved animals and thought that I wanted to be a zoologist or work with animals in some capacity. But it turns out that math and science aren’t my strong points. Though my job now as a landscape artist is essential to observe the natural world and show it to others in a new light, which feels kind of science-y in its own way.
I was a calculated risk taker. I didn’t like doing things too far out of my comfort zone and liked familiarity. I’m still this way, but have spent a lot of time working on figuring out which risks are worth taking and when I should put myself out there. It’s all a process, and I hope that I can keep working towards the best version of myself.
Contact Info:
- Email: michelleblackhawkstudio@gmail.com
- Website: http://www.michelleblackhawk.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/michelleblackhawkstudio
Image Credits
Meg Prom
