Michelle Seay grew up on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. As a youth on this remote island surrounded by nature, Seay was always outdoors exploring the dense woods, climbing trees or swimming on barren beaches and drawing with her ink pen. Being content and curious in nature as a child has taken root in Seay's life and continues to be paramount in her work today. Seay explains her youth as she describes, "My early drawings, which were completely independently motivated, consisted of humorous oddball people and stories from life that I would embellish in the notebook [always within an arm's] reach. I wouldn't say that I ever decided to become an artist - it's always stemmed from within." Seay is a 1994 College of Charleston BA Honors graduate, recipient of the Liberace Foundation Award Scholarship, and completed a post graduate residency at the School of Visual Arts in New York, NY. A certified USCG Captain, Seay spent nearly two decades working offshore in the Atlantic fishing sharks commercially, delivering boats, sailing, owning and operating a charter boat business based in the Charleston Harbor. Seay is an internationally distinguished artist with working private collections throughout the US and Europe. In addition to her recognition, Seay won the Piccolo Spoleto Poster in 2019 for the annual festival in Charleston. She is passionate about the act of drawing as a daily practice and capturing the world wherever she may be. Charleston restaurants featuring her works include Ru Ru’s Mexican Restaurant, Harold’s Cabin and Coast.