Michelle considers herself a realist, impressionist and a contemporary artist with a hint of traditional. She creates visible burst strokes and textures that allow two different ways to enjoy her paintings. Up close her paintings are very impressionistic, but from a distance of twenty feet the viewer feels they are looking at a photograph. The feeling of place is what Michelle is most interested in communicating through her work. “The words that I long to hear when someone is viewing my painting is, “I’ve been there,”, Michelle says. “I want the painting to give a feeling of familiarity and to not only see the landscape painting before them but to “feel” it.” Michelle now has relocated from her home state of Michigan to Denver, where she opened Westward, because of her love of the West. The studio in which she creates her work is inside of her gallery and Michelle greets everyone who comes in. “Owning Westward Gallery has been the most enriching experience of my life and I hope to be in Colorado for many more years.” Michelle also has representation in many other galleries across the US including Emanate Gallery in South Lake Tahoe, Art Obsessions in Truckee, CA, Blue Stone in Tahoe City, Truckee, CA, Freed Gallery in Lincoln City, OR, Montana Trails, Bozeman, MT, The Marshall Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, C2C Gallery in Grand Haven, MI, and Northwood Gallery, Midland, MI. One of the world’s most renowned artists, Michelle graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Michelle has work in private and corporate collections around the world including, Chevron Corporation Headquarters ( Houston, TX ), Dow Corning ( Midland, MI ), Hong Kong Bank of China ( HSBC ), Well Fargo Headquarters ( San Fransisco, CA ), Upjohn Pharmaceuticals ( Kalamazoo, MI ), Delta College ( Saginaw, MI ), Dominos Farms Headquarters ( Ann Arbor, MI ), Mid Michigan Medical Center ( Midland, MI ), Signature Health ( Boston, MA ), and Kaiser Permanente ( Denver, CO ).