Michelle Macnamara is a self-taught artist from Melbourne. Passionate about art since childhood, she began her journey as an artist at the age of 20, participating in countless exhibitions in her hometown. After moving to the UK for several years, Michelle returned to Australia in Byron Bay (New South Wales, South East Australia) with her husband. There, she opened her studio and gallery in a warehouse to create artwork, hold public exhibitions and art openings. After the birth of their daughter, Michelle began writing and illustrating children's books, in addition to her visual art. Today, while on an extended two-year break in Australia, Michelle creates digital art while she and her young family travel the world, drawing inspiration from the places she discovers.
Simplicity, minimalism and emotion
Expressing her creativity through styles initially inspired by surrealism, fauvism and expressionism, Michelle adds a touch of simplicity and minimalist silhouettes to her work. Her main source of inspiration remains everyday life, rich in real moments and stories, as well as art and artists in general, who give us a view of the world through new movements, which then nourish her works: “from the grotesque of Goya to the pain of Frida Kahlo, the honesty of Alice Neel, the tormented visions of Francis Bacon, and the deafening silence that invades me when I am in front of a great Rothko”. Contemporary art strikes her for its direct connection with human emotions, such as pain and joy. In Michelle's works, we sometimes find the portrait, the self-portrait or the naked, stripped nature. Modern forms inspired by Henri Matisse manage to translate true feelings that capture and hold the viewer's attention.
#TheJourney, the art of letting go…
A year after her daughter was born, Michelle began working on a series -#TheJourney- where she focused on translating her experience. Moving through spaces she had never encountered before, physically and emotionally, she realized the need to trust life, to let it lead her in the direction she was meant to go, to become the person she was meant to be. #TheJourney is not just a reflection on her own journey towards motherhood, but also a source of universal inspiration for those who will embark on this path.