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Born and educated in Liverpool in 1967, where she still lives, Michelle has developed a growing reputation as a fantasy artist and illustrator and has always been fascinated by the worlds of myth and legend. This is reflected in her work, which is filled with enchanted images of goddesses, faeries, Celtic myth and Arthurian legend.
Her work is sold world-wide as gift products and licensed items such as T-Shirts, Sterling Silver Jewellery, Slate Stones, Ceramic Tiles, Stationery, Bookmarks, Greetings Cards and more...
As well as licensing her work, Michelle is currently working as an illustrator for a number of clients in the UK and her work will be produced on many products.
Michelle's work is published in many magazines including, Pentacle Magazine, (as above, her work has been published on the front cover of the Summer Edition), her work was also published in the 'How to Draw and Paint Fairies' publication.
Michelle is currently working on her first book, beautifully illustrated with her enchanting images, which will be due out in 2009.
Interview with a fan, Siobhan Murphy
Siobhan Murphy from Holy Cross RC College, Bury, UK approached me in November, 2005. She is studying her A Level for Personal Studies and wanted to base her studies on my work, she will also be using a large illustrated piece along with the writing for the Art of Fairy.
Siobhan Murphy wrote:
Firstly, I want to tell you how much of an inspiration your work has been to me. I think every single piece of your work is fascinating and it has urged me to begin drawing fantasy images in my own artwork. Now, if it is ok with you, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding your work.
Interview:
I believe that you have created a unique fantasy world in your painting. How did this begin?
I have been interested in fantasy art from a young age and grew up with artists such as, Brian Froud and Arthur Rackham, so the fantasy / fairy world was very familiar to me (I have always been a very big fan of Froud). I stopped painting for around seven years and started again about three and a half years ago, I just picked one of my Froud books for inspiration one day and began drawing a fairy. I loved it and I started drawing fairies again from then on.
Why are images of fairies and pixies so important to you?
I love the world of fae and the magic that surrounds it. This magical world takes me to places I could not reach in the real world. I love being surrounded by the magic of it all, it inspires me, enlightens me and makes me feel I am part of the magic it portrays.
How important is emotion and mood to you in your artwork?
I believe I create a magical world in my work. I think ‘atmospheric’ would be a better way of describing the feel I am looking in each painting for rather than emotion or mood. Obviously, I have to be in a creative mood personally in order to paint.
Is each painting thought out beforehand or do you just experiment?
I do preliminary sketches a lot of the time but not always. If I have an idea for a future painting I do try and sketch it out so that I don’t lose it. Sometimes I just start drawing and see where it goes, sometimes it turns out well, other times it doesn’t! I also like to do a bit of experimenting with salts and sponges; this gives a great effect to the painting’s background - so experimenting can be quite important.
In the ‘Snow Queen’ you have created beautiful, lifelike feathers to make up the wings. What technique did you use?
Thank you. I painted the wings wet on dry - this is the normal process which I use. I start with the middle using paynes grey, then once this colour has dried I will use ultramarine over the top and then white and blend in the colours. I will cover any shadows with paynes grey and some ultramarine.
You tend to work so delicately that I find it hard to know which media you have used. Do you use mostly watercolour or ink?
I use mostly watercolour and some gouache for the white highlights but then it depends. I could use gouache, watercolour pencils, wherever I feel is best suited to the effect. I also use watercolour pens for the outline, sometimes rotaring pens and graphite pencil. I would say mostly watercolour pans, rather than the tubes, as the pans are easier to work with ( they have to be Windsor and Newton as I find they are the best).
Do you work from ‘real’ people or create these images from your imagination?
I mostly create images in my head - that is what I love about painting the picture, you don’t know what is going to come out next, it’s such a mystery. Once I get an idea I have to sketch it out quickly so that I don’t forget it. I may start with this image and come out with something completely different. I do sometimes work from images of ‘real’ people; either from posed photographs or from my Illustrators’ Reference Manual.
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