Animal activist art

It's been a while since I've posted, and I've had a lot going on with my art the last few months. This year I've mostly been working on commissioned animal paintings, which I will be posting on my website michellewatersart.com very soon. At the beginning of the year I decided I wanted to get my animal activist art shown in as many venues as possible. I'm happy that I've had some of my farmed animal liberation paintings shown in three different galleries, this year, two in different areas of Chicago, and the latest in Northern Idaho. The Idaho show makes me particularly happy because until recently, Idaho had an ag gag law (it was struck down by a Federal district court judge in August).

The first show was a national juried show at First Street Gallery in Chicago (posted about here). Then in July I had 4 animal activist paintings shown at the Chicago Urban Retreat Center. From September 18th - October 16th, 3 of my farmed animal saints paintings are in the Compassion for Animal Art Show at the Pend Oreille Art Council's gallery in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Art Against Oil

It's happened again, this time at Refugio Beach in Santa Barbara. As long as we are held hostage to earth-raping oil companies, we'll keep having tragedies and animals and people will continue to suffer. A few weeks ago, on the 5th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, I decided to photograph an art piece I did to commemorate the lives lost as a result of that catastrophe. The result is below.

My art box is a finalist in Mercury News poll

I'm really happy and honored that the art box I painted at Naglee and Park, across from the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose, is a finalist in the San Jose Mercury News's contest for the best art boxes in San Jose. I painted the art box in the Summer of 2012, and because of the proximity to the Museum I used an Egyptian theme. My box is nominated in the category of "most eye-catching", and I have some stiff competition! The art box project is the brain child of Tina Morrill, who has worked tirelessly to add beauty and life to otherwise drab street corners. If you want to vote for me, you can go here: http://www.mercurynews.com/scott-herhold/ci_27829893/herhold-vote-utility-box-art-finalists-san-jose

Here's some pics of my art box:

Art to benefit animals

I have art in a couple exhibits to benefit animals. The first is a benefit for the grassroots activist group Wolf Patrol. "Still Howling - Art for the Wolves" showcases original paintings, prints, photos...all to benefit the endangered Canis Lupus. I have one painting and a few prints available, and 100% of the proceeds will go to Wolf Patrol. Below is the painting I've donated:

"All That We Want Are Our Lives" (c) 2015 Michelle Waters
12" x 9" acrylic on wood

I've also donated a painting to the exhibit "Bunnymania", to benefit The National Museum of Animals and Society in Los Angeles. Bunnymania is a fundraiser art exhibition curated by celebrated Los Angeles art critic Peter Frank and exhibit producer Delia Cabral. The show raises awareness about our relationship to rabbits, both the animals and what they’ve come to symbolize in our human experience.

"Bunnymania" will show in two galleries: Chungking Studio in Chinatown (Downtown L.A.) 975 Chung King Rd. Los Angeles, CA from March 27 - 29 with the Opening Reception March 27th From 6:00pm to 9:00PM; and Wilding Cran Gallery Unit B in the Arts District (Downtown L.A.) 939 South Santa Fe Ave. Los Angeles, from April 4th-18th, 2015, with the Opening Reception on Saturday, April 4th from 6 to 9 pm. Below is the piece I've donated for "Bunnymania".

"The Flower Child" (c) Michelle Waters

9" x 6" Acrylic on wood

I feel really blessed that I'm able to use my art to directly help spread the message of compassion for non-human animals. It is definitely a huge gift, and one for which I'm very grateful.

March shows

Happy almost Equinox. I've been crazy busy and have until now forgotten to blog about a couple of shows I have work in. The first is at "You Art What You Eat", a national juried show about food at Union Street Gallery in Chicago. I'm thrilled that two of my farmed animal liberation paintings are in this show. As far as I'm concerned, the more eyeballs that see animal activist art, the better. Below are the two pieces in this show.

"The Cruelest Holiday" - (c) 2013 Michelle Waters

"Smarter Than Your Dog" (c) 2013 Michelle Waters

The second show is "Loteria!", Cactus Gallery's 10th Anniversary group show. I've been showing with Cactus Gallery in Los Angeles for a few years now, and owner Sandra Mastroianni always does an amazing job with creating interesting shows, but I think she's outdone herself this time because this show is just fantastic. For this show, each artist was assigned one of 54 Loteria cards (Loteria is a Mexican game of chance, like Bingo). My card is "El Gallo", the rooster, and is below.

"El Gallo Psicodélico" (c) 2015 Michelle Waters

New art at Sanctuary Bistro

Happy 2015. Let's make this a more peaceful world for animals, humans and the Earth. In that spirit, I have a small show of mostly new paintings up at Sanctuary Bistro, a wonderful new vegan restaurant in Berkeley, CA. There will be a "meet and greet" event this coming Monday, January 19th from 6 - 8pm. Below are three new pieces I painted for this show.

"Don't Fear Me" - 12 x 16 acrylic on wood - (c) 2014 Michelle Waters

"I am the Spirit of the Land" - 12 x 16 acrylic on wood - (c) 2014 Michelle Waters

"Let Me Be My Wild Self" - 12 x 16 acrylic on wood (c) 2014 Michelle Waters