All Eyes On: Michelle Schultz

My paintings are acrylic works on canvas of vivid and expressive portraits. As an introspective extrovert, I choose to focus on the faces of the people who have colored my own life. My brush is drawn to canvas at a time of getting to know a person for who they really are, when their depth and vulnerabilities begin to present themselves. It fascinates me to see the humanity in people, the pieces that connect us all together, and our communal internal struggles. This is where I begin to paint using pattern and color to express emotion and ignite the senses.

I strive to capture the soul and spirit of my subject in my work layer by layer. To create a 2-dimensional painting from a being who exists with so many facets, dualities, and depths, is a challenge that will always fascinate me. My magical and symbolic backgrounds create a space where this being can live uninhibited in paint as their true selves.

Themes in my work include my constant search for justice, wisdom, honesty, and peace. Painting reveals the truths of our souls at its core. I strive to create a mood in which the viewer feels like they can recognize a piece of themselves in a stranger as I have. I tell our stories through color. These subjects in paint are an autobiography of my life. I cling to their ethereal faces with a faint sense of homesickness, as I have to the memories, places, and lessons that I have left behind.