Artist Spotlight: Michelle Cornelius

Welcome Michelle Cornelius to our Midtown Art Wall!

Michelle’s work captures some of our favorite Alaskan wildlife friends - from the sandhill crane to the grizzly bear, we love these dynamic scenes.

We caught up with Michelle for some Q&A:

Tell us about what inspired the pieces for this collection?

The inspiration for most of my art is the wildlife that surrounds us here in Alaska .

I’ve always been close to my own personal pets and spent twenty-five years in small animal care. My paintings generally show our wild neighbors in a “human light.” I often use humor to show they are very much like us in the way they nurture their families, work and play.

Tell us a bit about yourself as artists?

As I stated earlier, my love of animals has always been a large part of my personality - influencing my art.

I spend at least a part of my day generally in my studio. I’m usually painting, but sometimes packaging prints or getting paintings framed or prepared to hang. Or just hanging with my studio muse: Wyatt.

What else would you like to share about your process, drive, or artistic journey?

I began very young, as most artists do, by drawing in pencil. Graduating to pen and ink. Moving on to charcoal, then colored pencil, then to pastel, to oil now. I teach most my mediums which include: charcoal, colored pencil, pastel, acrylic, alcohol ink, and oil when time and opportunity allow. My artist process is always evolving. Generally, I start with at least a thumb nail sketch, including all aspects of the composition. I go through a light and dark study of value then transfer to my canvas using charcoal pencil sketch. I use a fixative to set it and start with painting dark to light. Sometimes I use a paint to apply the dark and light composition. I finish the painting which can happen very quickly or take many weeks depending on the complexity of my plan. I let dry 2 weeks before putting a temporary varnish. Then 6 months to permanent varnish.