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.” 

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:

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!

"Menagerie" group show at Modern Eden

I am participating in a group show at Modern Eden in San Francisco - "Menagerie". The show is to benefit the San Francisco SPCA, and I am donating 100% of my portion of the proceeds. The reception is Saturday night, February 11 at 7pm.

"Bird Brain" - 18 x 24 - acrylic on canvas

the Warm & Fuzzy Show!

I'm in a group show at Eclectix Gallery called "The Warm & Fuzzy Show". It opens this Friday night at 7pm and will be up through January 10. Here's a link: www.eclectix.com/

Here's a piece of mine from the show: "The Reluctant Monarch" - acrylic on wood

Madonna of the Acorns

painting at MACLA

I've got a painting in a group show at MACLA in downtown San Jose starting today (june 27) through july 14. The show is a community participation exhibit about neighborhoods, and I've contributed my piece "the Undevelopment Agency". I'm very happy that this particular painting is being included now because the whole Coyote Valley development issue is heating up again. MACLA is at 510 south 1st street in the SOFA district of downtown San Jose.

group show in Sacramento and other stuff

I have a couple of pieces in a group show of bird-themed art at Exploding Head Gallery in Sac this month - www.explodingheadgallery.com. The show is called "On the Wing". Gallery address is 924 12th St. in downtown Sacramento. The reception is on Saturday May 12 from 6 - 9pm and I will be there.

I'm also showing work in downtown San Jose at Kaleid Gallery. Kaleid is at the corner of 88 South Fourth at San Fernando. It's a big cooperative gallery that is the brainchild of Cherri Lakey and Brian Eider of Anno Domini and Phantom Galleries. Kaleid shows paintings, prints and other fine art alongside a lot of very fun jewelry and other gift type items. Lot of great stuff - check it out!

And, the group show "California Centered: the Environment" is still on view at the Merced Art Center www.artsmerced.org until June 1st.