We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michele Rene. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michele below.

Hi Michele, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start on the operational side – do you spend more of your time/focus/energy on growing revenue or cutting costs?

This is definitely a balancing act! I now have an art studio where I have space to create. Because it’s a commercial lease, a business license and insurance are required. These expenses have encouraged me to hustle a little more on getting my art out there. I’d say at this point in my career, I’m more focused on growing revenue to offset any costs.

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 back background and context?

My name is Michele Rene and I’m a visual artist specializing in paintings of faces, forms and objects. I enjoy creating the occasional abstract or still-life, but my focus is on the human form. I’m self-taught and have been drawing and painting since I was a toddler. An early introvert, I spent a lot of my time daydreaming and creating scenes of people. As I developed as an artist, I had the tendency to create portraits of females, mostly sprouted from my mind’s eye. I begin a piece, not having any preconceived ideas except for the shape of a face. The painting guides me along until a personality emerges. The fun part is naming them once complete. (And sometimes I make up a little story about who they are and what they’re about). Example: “Tanya works at a surf shop in Venice Beach. She’s new to the area and a little guarded, but in time she will find her tribe.”

In addition to the portraits, sometimes I take a less controlled approach and bend the rules a bit. This technique results in more of an abstract form: a line suggesting the curve of a back, a blurred face on a multi-colored torso. I like the freedom this method brings and it has inspired me to delve into playing with graphics and digital versions of my work. I continue to explore different media not just for the challenge, but also to grow as an artist.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is that we get to connect with our souls while practicing our craft. I wish that for everyone; even if your discipline or day job is not considered creative, I hope we all get to live our purpose.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Non-creatives might struggle to understand why we do what we do. In particular, since art is not always an easy way to make money, why do we spend our blood, sweat and tears trying to sell it? The quick answer is that we would make art regardless because it fuels our soul. Many of us want to sell the art so we can buy materials and have time to keep making it. To piggy-back on the previous answer regarding why art is rewarding, art is rewarding for me because that is my gift and purpose. My recommendation and insight to non-artists, is that everything can be considered an artform if it is truly your gift and purpose. When someone has intuition beyond their colleagues in a given industry, I believe that can be considered art. Find your truth and live it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.michelerene.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelereneart/