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Artist Statement:
My art fuses my love for
animals, concern about the
welfare of the planet and
twisted sense of humor. I call
my work "environmental
surrealism". Influences
include kitschy portrayals of
animals from mass-marketed
popular culture, the
nightmarish imagery of
Hieronymus Bosch, Beatrix
Potter, Maurice Sendak, the
writings of Edward Abbey, and
my work as a wildlife
rehabilitator.
My "religious animals"
paintings are a reaction to
the ubiquitous fundamentalist
religion in America as well as
the idea propounded by most
organized religions that
animals have no souls. Some of
my animal characters have
founded their own religion,
complete with nuns, popes and
televangelists. My
environmentally-themed
paintings feature naughty
animals having fun turning our
superiority on its head by
demolishing industrial
objects. Grizzly bears with
jackhammers "restoring" a
freeway, a mountain lion with
an acetylene torch
decommissioning a bulldozer,
arctic wildlife laying waste
to a Hummer dealership and
animals tearing down
billboards for housing
developments are some of the
characters who populate my
paintings.
I also enjoy the disquieting
effect of combining body parts
from different species. As
someone who works with small
animals I often ponder the
evolutionary process - why
creatures look the way they
do. Questions as what ...
Further Information
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Artist Exhibitions:
Selected Solo and 2-Person
Exhibits:
2010 Notre Dame De Namur
University Library Gallery
2008 Kaleid Gallery - San
Jose, CA
2007 Environmental Surrealists
– Esteban Sabar Gallery,
Oakland, CA (two-person show)
2006 Animal Insurrection –
Gallery at Thoreau – San
Francisco, CA
2006 Animal Insurrection –
Wiseman Gallery, Rogue
Community College, Grants
Pass, ...
Further Information
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Artist Galleries:
Coming Soon!
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Artist Reviews:
Coming Soon!
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Collections:
Coming Soon!
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Commissions:
Coming Soon!
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Michelle Waters Biography:
| Biographical information for Michelle Waters can be found below. The artist may choose what information to display. Sometimes the artist chooses not to display personal information to the general public. |
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Age
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0
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| Gender |
Female
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| Status |
not provided
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| Children |
99
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| Religion |
not provided |
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| Education |
Bachelor of Fine Arts |
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| Hobbies / Interests |
not provided |
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| Favorite Artistic Medium |
Painting Acrylic
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| Favorite Arthistory Movement |
Surrealism - (1924 - 1955)
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| Favorite Visual Artist |
Remedios Varo
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| Favorite Work of Art |
too many to name!
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| Biggest Artistic Inspiration |
not provided |
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| Why Did You Become An Artist |
not provided |
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| Your Personal Biography |
I was born and raised in the monotonous suburban wasteland of the San Fernando Valley where making art became my salvation from boredom. In my late teens I escaped to a life in the redwood forest of the Bay Area, where I make paintings with surreal subject matter. I have a degree in art from U.C. Santa Cruz. My work is influenced by both pop surrealism and the original surrealists, the wildlife around my home, Mexican painters, dreams, Hieronymous Bosch, Sue Coe and illustrators like Maurice Sendak and even Beatrix Potter.
I paint topics that focus on my bewilderment at the state of our environment and the general state of decay in 21st century America. The anthropomorphic animals populating my paintings include a squirrel televangelist, a squirrel Madonna and child, arctic wildlife destroying a Hummer dealership and bear cheerleaders. I also have a new series of “hybrid” animals where I mix body parts from different species. I suppose this comes from a part of me that wants to play mad scientist. I like to make art that induces laughter and indulges my love of the absurd, however serious some of my subject matter is.
My work has been shown widely in the Bay Area and nationally, in group and solo exhibits. I am also active in the South Bay Area arts community.
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contact artist
