Solo show at Kaleid Gallery in October

I'm super excited about my upcoming solo show at Kaleid Gallery in San Jose, CA. “Intelligent Life Forms” will feature 15 new paintings and drawings all created this year. The opening reception will be on Friday night, October 6 from 7 - 11pm and the show runs through October 27. The postcard below features my painting, “Trees are the Lungs of the Earth”.

“It has always seemed strange to me that we talk about finding intelligent life on other planets, when we have plenty of intelligent life forms right here on Earth that we should be focusing on saving. Nature and animals have been healing for me in this life, and the natural world is now under attack like never before. In response, I'm drawn to making art about all that is still beautiful in this world, and all that needs protection.” 

Holiday shows!

Hi, friends and art lovers and anyone who may be reading this:

It's hard to believe the holidays are already here again. In response to the election results, I am doubling up on my efforts to raise funds for environmental and animal organizations through my art. To this end, I have paintings in several group shows of small art, perfect for gifting, for the holidays.

The above creatures are two from my new "genius animals" series, and they're showing in "Tiny Treasures XI" at Cactus Gallery in L.A. These gifted rodents have discovered Maxwell's equations and are showing the world that animals are indeed smart! I will be donating proceeds from the sale of these paintings to the Center for Biological Diversity. Please contact Sandra Mastroianni at Cactus Gallery for purchase info, or go to my page on Cactus Gallery's website to purchase.

Three paintings from my "Cats on Catnip" series are showing in "Tiny" at Studio Gallery in San Francisco, with proceeds to benefit the Dancing Cat, a cat adoption lounge in San Jose. The paintings have titles like "The Electric Catnip Kool-Aid Test" and "Magic Catnip Ride" and I've been having a lot of fun creating them over the past few months.

Finally, I'll have some new small paintings in "HARK!", the annual holiday group show at Kaleid Gallery in downtown San Jose where I am a resident artist. The new pieces are of foxes and were painted in the last couple of weeks. Proceeds from the sale of these pieces will go to the Center for Biological Diversity and their work to defend endangered species. There will be an opening reception on Friday night, December 2nd, as part of South First Fridays, and I will be there.

Thanks for following my work. May we all use our talents to light a path in these dark times, for all of life on Earth.

"Symphony of Wings" at Cactus Gallery

I have one new painting in a wonderful group show at Cactus Gallery in L.A. "Symphony of Wings" features art focusing on wings and their symbolism. Since threats to pollinators - bees, butterflies, bats and hummingbirds - are very much part of my consciousness right now, I chose to do a painting in honor of the small creatures who most of us take for granted, but without which there would be no human or animal life. "Symphony of Wings" runs from June 11 - July 2. Please email Sandra at semastroianni70@yahoo.com for purchase info.

"Blessed are the Pollinators" (c) 2016 Michelle Waters
11" x 14" Acrylic on Wood

New Animal Art for Spring!

Hi to anyone who may see this, and happy Spring. - I'm such an infrequent blogger that I don't know that anyone will read this. But no matter. I have four new pieces that will be in a group show of animal art at Cactus Gallery in Los Angeles, "Beastly Beings". It looks like it's going to be a great show. Below are my pieces. Please contact Sandra Mastroianni, owner of Cactus Gallery, for purchase info. Proceeds from the two cat paintings will be donated to The Dancing Cat, San Jose's cat cafe.

"River Otters and California Poppies" (c) 2016 Michelle Waters
8" x 10" - acrylic on wood

"What's For Lunch?" (c) 2016 Michelle Waters
10" x 8" acrylic on wood

"The Electric Catnip Kool-Aid Test" (c) 2016 Michelle Waters
5" x 7" acrylic on wood

"Kitty in the Sky With Diamonds" (c) 2015 Michelle Waters
5" x 7" acrylic on wood

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: