We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Marra recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I can answer this question with a resounding YES!!! I am extremely happy as an artist. The really big question is why it took me so darn long to come to that conclusion. I feel like I spent most of my young life and adult life running from what gave me complete and utter joy. “Why would I do such a thing?” you ask. The answer was simple….I was riddled with fear

Growing up in central Florida, sports played a big part for my siblings, but art was all I wanted to do. I took art lessons on Saturdays at the local art league and I relished my time in the art room. I absolutely loved the smell of pastels, charcoal and clay. This was the life I wanted but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I took up painting throughout high school and then dropped everything to go to college and then make a living. I had opportunities to practice my creativity as a graphic artist and I turned it down. Again, it was my fear. I felt that I needed a background in business to make a living. No starving artist life for me.

Fast forward a couple decades and several jobs in the corporate world in middle management and then full time sales; the pull of my creative side kept bubbling up. I would take some more painting classes here and there but I still didn’t make art my focus.

I knew I was missing something and it wasn’t until I took a 4-day abstract workshop that my entire world just busted loose!! I finally knew what I wanted to do!! For years I wanted to paint more feelings into my painting and here was a way through – by how I applied my paint. It was such a new approach to me. After decades of painting traditionally, no one had bothered to teach me to paint with feeling. Now I was on to something magical.

It’s been almost a decade since I took that abstract workshop and I haven’t looked back since. I call myself a Spirited Colorist because it really describes what my work is all about. It’s about finding that emotion and putting it on the canvas with color, texture and shape.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I paint daily and I work on many different canvases at once. It was a 4-day abstract workshop about a decade ago that gave me focus on what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My work is joyful and colorful using texture, line and shape. All those traditional art “rules” I learned over the years are set free and now I paint from an inner voice that needs no words.

At first my husband and three daughters weren’t so sure about my shift to abstracts but now they are huge supporters and big fans! I formed Michelle Marra Studios, LLC over 5 years ago and made my love of painting my vocation. I am now represented by Allison Sprock Fine Art in Charlotte, NC; Charleston, SC and Raleigh, NC; AnArte Gallery in San Antonio, TX; Art on 7th in Hendersonville, NC and Wychwood Art in Deddington, England (outside London).

I’ve shown my work in regional art museums around the country and have been recognized for my work: “The People’s Choice Award” at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, third place at Mystic Museum of Art, a finalist in the annual competition at Artist’s Magazine and last but not least, included three years in a row in a beautiful coffee table book, “Artfolio – A Curated Collections of the World’s Most Exciting Artists”.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I am not sold on the idea of NFTs. Because I am not technically proficient and I don’t quite understand it, I am suspect of it. I choose to spend my time on things I know and this is not one of them. My biggest concern with NFTs is that I think those that are more tech savvy could take advantage of those that aren’t knee deep within the industry. I like my old fashioned canvas with my old fashioned paint.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

My mission every day is to become a better painter. I am constantly building on my knowledge of paint. There is a million ways of mixing and applying the paint and I find that to be a huge challenge. When I painted traditionally and I would paint a tree – it’s pretty straight forward. But now that I have no constraints the possibilities are endless. I love the challenge of making a dramatic painting that also gives a feeling of serenity. It’s that juxtaposition that excites me

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michellemarrastudio.com/home.html
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellemarrastudio/