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:

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

My refusal to participate in the violence of Thanksgiving

I'm going to depart from my usual blog posts of announcing my art events, because what's on my mind are the 45 million turkeys who have been raised in horrifying conditions and killed in even more horrifying conditions so that Americans can participate in the Thanksgiving ritual. I wish so much that people would wake up and realize the hidden violence behind the societal requirement to eat the body of a tortured turkey in celebration of this holiday.

The dead turkeys that will be on most American holiday tables on November 27th were babies who never saw the light of day, who lived in conditions that, were dogs and cats subjected to them, would be illegal. And yes, this is true of free-range turkey "farms" as well as factory farms.

Like other birds, turkeys have no protection under the Animal Welfare Act or the Humane Slaughter Act. A single slaughterhouse can kill 360 birds per minute, or 518,000 in 24 hours (www.foodispower.org/turkeys/). Think about it, and let the reality of what that means penetrate you emotionally.

I haven't eaten a turkey since 1980, and I'm just fine. The best nutritional science tells us that humans have no need for animal protein. Really, it is okay to go against society's expectations, especially when those expectations require participation in a violent system. Non-violence begins with the fork.

"The Cruelest Holiday" (c) 2013 Michelle Waters

Vegan art calendar to benefit Hillside Animal Sanctuary!

Hello, and happy Fall! I'm really proud to be a contributing artist to the 2015 vegan art calendar sold to benefit Hillside Animal Sanctuary in England. This is a collaborative project involving 12 different artists from around the world, which was coordinated by artist Leigh Sanders of Spain. To purchase calendars, please visit the website. Below is my piece that I did for the calendar:

"May All Beings Be Free" - (c) 2014 Michelle Waters
acrylic on paper

Here is my statement about my piece:
"I was spurred to become a vegan animal liberation activist because of my connection with my companion animals. I realized that farmed animals have as much love, and as much an inherent right to live their lives unharmed as the animals I share my home with. I painted 'Free From Suffering' to show that when it comes to suffering, a dog is a chicken is a pig is a person. We all feel pain."

September - October art shows

I have work in 2 group shows right now. The first is "Pets, Beasts and Dinner: Relations Between Human and Animal Creatures" at Gallery Bergen in Paramus, New Jersey. I'm really happy that my more political work about animals is being seen. The more sets of eyeballs that are exposed to the reality of what non-human animals go through, the better. Below is the show flyer, and the three paintings I have in the show.

"Love One, Kill the Other" - (c) 2013 Michelle Waters

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

"The Right to Arm Bears" - (c) 2005 Michelle Waters

The second group show I'm in is a frog-themed exhibit at Cactus Gallery in Los Angeles. This show will be up through September. Here's a link to all of the pieces in the show, and below is my piece (a toad, not a frog).

"Toadally Spellbound" - (c) 2013 Michelle Waters

Last but not least, I'm one of the featured artists at this year's Luna Park Chalk Art Fest in San Jose, CA, which is this coming Saturday, September 20th. This is a great annual event that raises money for art in the public schools. For more information, please visit lunaparkchalkart.org

Custom animal portraits to benefit Hen Harbor sanctuary

Hey - do you have an animal friend that you've always wanted a portrait of? I'm helping with a fundraiser to save Apples, one of the rescued hens at Hen Harbor, a 501(c )(3) non-profit animal sanctuary in the Santa Cruz mountains. For a $200 donation, I will paint an 8 x 10 portrait of your companion animal. And for a $100 donation, I'll paint a 5 x 7 mini-portrait of your animal.

Apples the hen was rescued from a battery-cage factory farm in June 2013. She is dying from an impacted oviduct, a condition that is a directly attributable to the factory-farming industry: Being bred to lay so many eggs in such a short amount of time destroys the oviducts of industry hens after only a few years.

 Here's more info: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/8ooF4/ab/03VXl9

 Here are some examples of my animal portraits: http://www.michellewatersart.com/commissions.html

Thank you!

Summer shows

I have work in a couple of group shows right now. "Song of the Birds" is Cactus Gallery's annual bird-themed show, which is up now and runs through July 31st, 2014. For purchase information, please contact Sandra Mastroianni at semastroianni70@yahoo.com. Below are my pieces in the show:

"Sacred Heron" (c) 2014 Michelle Waters - 5 x 7

"Death and Rebirth" (c) 2012 Michelle Waters - 8 x 10

"Cardinal Sinners" (c) 2012 Michelle Waters - 10 x 10

I also have one of my animal liberation paintings from last year's solo show in "Disconnect", a group show sponsored by the Northern California Women's Caucus for Art at Transmission Gallery in Oakland. This show is up through July 19th. The piece the curators chose for the show is below. I'm really happy for the chance to have my more confrontational work shown, as most galleries shy away from activist subject matter.

"Terror" (c) 2013 Michelle Waters - 24 x 18

Extinction Saints series

It's been a few months since I've posted here, and I really have no excuse except for laziness. I've started a new series of small paintings of animals who are going extinct because of human greed. They will be small paintings (9 x 12 or 10 x 10) which suits me these days as I can complete paintings more quickly, and they are easier to ship than big pieces. The first two in the series are below:

"Killing the People of the Forest" - (c) 2014 Michelle Waters

The situation with palm oil cultivation in Sumatra, Borneo and Malaysia is more and more dire for the animals of the area who are losing habitat quickly. Orangutans, Sumatran tigers, rhinoceros and pygmy elephants are just a few species whose populations are crashing due to palm oil mania. Palm oil is ubiquitous and in everything from snack foods to laundry detergent and nutritional supplements. To understand more about the palm oil crisis, please visit saynotopalmoil.com.

"One Every 15 Minutes" (c) 2014 Michelle Waters

African elephants will be extinct in the wild within 10 years if the global ivory trade is not shut down. The U.S. is the second largest market for ivory sales, after China. Ivory is for sale in Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. I've seen it myself. Today, 100 elephants will be killed by semi-automatic weapons, spears, traps and poisoning. Their tusks will be hacked off and sent to Chinese carving factories. A burgeoning Chinese upper class has fueled the slaughter in recent years. Many of the poachers have ties to terrorist organizations, and many, many wildlife rangers have also been killed defending elephants and rhinos. To find out what grassroots groups on the ground in Africa are doing to address the crisis, please visit Elephant Aware Masai Mara  and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, both in Kenya.

Satao, Kenya's biggest elephant, was killed by poachers in the last few days. Read more...

A few new small pieces for the holidaze, and three big group shows!

I've been taking a little break after my solo show in October, but I do have three new small pieces in HARK! a big group show for the holidays at Kaleid Gallery in San Jose. The opening is Friday night, December 6th. I will be there, along with some of the other 60+ artists who have work in the show. The show continues through January 18th.

"Once, we were everywhere"  (c) 2013 Michelle Waters
9" x 12" - acrylic on wood.
Proceeds from the sale of this piece to go to the Center for Biological Diversity.

"Don't Say Goodbye" (c) 2013 Michelle Waters
4" x 6" - acrylic on wood.
Proceeds from the sale of this piece to go to Elephant Aware Masai Mara.

"Rhino Peace" (c) 2013 Michelle Waters
4" x 6" - acrylic on wood.
Proceeds from the sale of this piece to go to the David Sheldrick Foundation, Nairobi, Kenya.

I also have work in two other group shows for the holidays: "Tiny" at Studio Gallery in San Francisco (through December 24th), and "Tiny Treasures" at Cactus Gallery in Los Angeles (through January 31st). I've been showing at Studio Gallery for 6 years now, and at Cactus Gallery for 4 years. Both galleries are owned by great people who make the gallery experience stress-free and fun.

I'm extremely grateful for everyone who supports my art, and the art of other living artists, as well as the small mom and pop galleries who do what they do out of love for the creative spirit. It's not easy to keep an independent art gallery going in this economy, so please, support these folks who keep artists visible! Thanks so much for your support, and Happy Holidays!

"We Are All Animals" solo show at Kaleid Gallery in San Jose

I've finished hanging my solo show, "We Are All Animals", at Kaleid Gallery in San Jose. The opening is this Friday, October 4th at 7pm, and the show runs through October 26th. I will be donating all of my portion of sales to Animal Place, a Grass Valley sanctuary for abused survivors of our industrial food system. For purchase information, please contact Kaleid Gallery at 408.947.1785 or through their website.

I created 11 new paintings for this show, and also hung 3 older pieces. Below are the new pieces...

"The Activist's Heart" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 37" x 37"

"Going...Going...Gone" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 24" x 37"

"One Billion a Year" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 16" x 20"

"Terror" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 24" x 18"

"Love One, Kill the Other" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 18" x 24"

"Gallus neglectedus" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 10" x 10"

"The Cruelest Holiday" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 10" x 10"

"Not Like Sheep to the Slaughter" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 10" x 10"

"Goat Cheese is the New Veal" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 10" x 10"

"Someone's Stolen Child" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 10" x 10"

"Smarter Than Your Dog" (C) Michelle Waters 2013 - 10" x 10"