About the Artist
BIOGRAPHY
My name is Michelle Wrighton, I am an award winning Western Australian animal and wildlife artist specializing in Canine Fine Art. I have undertaken pet portrait commissions for a number of years, and my online portfolio of commissioned pet portraits, wildlife artwork and photography can be viewed at http://michellewrighton.com.
I am a versatile artist and prefer to work in a number of mediums including graphite, charcoal, artist colour pencils, soft pastels, acrylic and oils. I love animals, and enjoy portraying their personality and character in my art - but dogs are my favourite subjects to portray, their uniqueness, expressiveness and personality truly make them man (and woman’s) best friend! I have three dog’s of my own and would have more if I could:)
Art helping dogs in need.
The commissioned pet portraits that I create from photographs are highly detailed and very realistic (almost photographic) in style. To achieve this level of detail, each piece of my artwork takes from 20 to 60+ hours to complete, depending on the size, medium and the level of detail involved.
This Dog Paintings series is a project that I have had planned for several years to allow me to help raise funds for dog rescue groups and shelters from the sale of my artwork as well as to further my development as an artist by creating smaller format (less than 9″x12″) paintings to experiment and explore artistic styles other than photo-realism.
I’ll be honest and add that I really hope to have a little bit of fun along the way as well! Yes, us artists can be a bit strange - many of us take a ‘break’ from our work as artists by creating more art in our free time just for ‘fun’. I love dogs of all shapes, sizes, breeds and cross-breeds, so my subject matter will remain the same, I’ll just be working more expressively in the project work rather than in my normal tightly detailed style.
Many artists keep their studies and experimental work private, but as a piece of my heart and soul go into every piece of art that I create, I would much rather they go to good homes where they will be enjoyed and appreciated by dog lovers and art collectors alike. Each painting offered for sale will also have a percentage of the sale price donated to a dog rescue group or shelter to help dogs in need.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My goal is to illuminate the unique character and essence of my subjects and capture the true spirit of each individual animal that I portray in my work. I believe that the eyes truly are the windows to the soul, which is why up-close-and-personal head and shoulder portraits of my subjects feature prominently in my work.
As I create, an emotional connection develops with both the subject and the artwork - every piece is nurtured from conception to completion and along the way each one is infused with a bit of my heart and soul. I am a purely self taught artist and having avoided the traditional academic approach, my style has developed through experimentation and self determination of what is important to me as artist. While more recently there are many artists whom I admire and who inspire me, I can honestly say that no one artist has influenced my work - my work is influenced by how I see and interpret the natural world around me.
Animals have always been an important part of my life and are a constant pleasure and inspiration. Through my art, I hope to evoke emotions that inspire a deeper appreciation, respect, admiration, compassion and empathy for the precious animals and the beautiful natural world that we are responsible for.
Thank you for taking the time to find out a little more about me and I hope you enjoy viewing my artwork!
