Michele Gort lives and works in Holland, Michigan. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Kendall College of Art & Design, where she graduated with honors, and received the 2001 Studio Elect Award for her graduating class. She began her career as an interior designer, but felt drawn to the art world and to art-making.

“I paint and create, not only to decorate environments, but to inspire people. My goal has been met when my paintings draw people in to view them mor closely and to appreciate the depth and rich textures they encompass.”

Michele works primarily with oils and mixed mediums to create her vibrant expressionist and abstract paintings. Working in layers of paint and brushstrokes, she prefers to paint on a larger canvas in order to best capture the fluidity and movement that draw her viewers into the image. Whether working on an abstract painting or a representational painting Michele always favors large paint strokes and thick palette knife work. Michele primarily paints with oils because they dry slowly, which allows her to blend the color and manipulate the paint with organic movement until it reveals satisfying brushstrokes, marks, texture and layers. Her work is mostly inspired by solitary time taken in nature, “taking time to appreciate the abstraction in the small details that can be seen around me.”

Michele has shown her works in numerous shows and exhibitions, and has many private and corporate collectors. Most recently, Michele has been accepted in the 2015 Artprize, an international art competitio in which she will be showing several of her “City Reflection” paintings at the Woman’s City Club5.

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