We recently connected with Michele Thompson and have shared our conversation below.
Michele, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
In a delectably complicated way, Yes, I’m happy as an artist. These are such complicated questions for me because I have struggled through the entirety of my adult life to fit into a job that I feel both fulfilled in and can earn an income from. Without delving too far into my gripes with American society, I simply don’t seem to fit anywhere. And when the opportunity to be a full-time artist presented itself, I was afraid to take it because it’s quite difficult to exist with any sort of societal value as a Fine Artist without an MFA, or at least a Bachelor’s degree. I have experiential knowledge and passion, things that have value only to those who understand that life is not about getting a promotion or buying a house (which I do not mean to trivialize). We aren’t meant to be identified by our occupations and government-assigned numbers, but by our comprehensive vitality and the tenderness of basic human experience.
There is little overlap between feeling good about the piece of art and feeling good in the peace of art; the goal is to somehow achieve both. It’s rarely possible for me, but incredibly fulfilling when successful. At this point in my career, I’ve foregone the expectations of the so-called “art world” and have taken my practice into my own entrepreneurial direction. Creating art authentic to my style and interests, and not succumbing to trends or market pressure, allows me unburdened freedom of expression. Last year, I pivoted to operate as a small business balancing administrative/marketing responsibilities with capricious creative production. This has helped me structure my entire practice more efficiently and has led to many new opportunities and ideas.
The journey artists go through while creating is incomparable to that of a regular job. The act of creating is an entirely anomalous and mysterious process. I often consider what life would be like if I had a regular job, and then I remember that I had the privilege to leave one to pursue my greatest passion in life, something that too many people are never afforded the opportunity to do. My gratitude, overall, exceeds any yearning for a different type of life.
Michele, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a contemporary artist by the name Michele Thompson, specializing in landscape and plein air (“in the open air”) painting. I grew up in a rural canyon community, where free time was spent outside in nature. I started documenting nature through art as a young child, practicing my ability to translate an observation to a drawing. This early duality of nature and art is the fundamental base to who I am and why I create. From working in the outdoor industry to participating in international artist residencies, “nature” and “art” have always driven me.
Like many people who have chosen to pursue a passion as their career, a life-changing experience intersected my path and forced new perspectives upon me. My parents have both lost their battles with Cancer, and those processes both stalled and invigorated me. Having spent my 20’s experiencing the time-consuming tribulations of grief and attempting to find a purpose in the world, I’m now devoted to my art practice as I seek to use painting to deepen my understanding of life and death and demonstrate the commonalities of these collective experiences.
I’m known for my impressionistic and “sensitive” landscape paintings. I paint primarily from observation outside and from personal references in the studio. I use a limited palette of only six colors because it allows me better control over the quality of my colors and values, which gives me more freedom to experiment on the canvas. There’s something so satisfying about thick paint, and oils have an unctuous texture and vibrance perfect for performing a pleasing spread. Aside from creating interesting art depicting scenes from nature, my ultimate goal is to appreciate simplicity through experimentation with materials and technique, and to thoughtfully stimulate the mind.
I have participated in three international artist residencies as well as a few shows and exhibitions throughout the US. I’m open to collaboration and occasional commissions. More about the intricacies of my practice and inspirations, as well as currently available pieces, can be found on my website www.artistmichelethompson.com. Join my free email newsletter where I give an intimate look at my works-in-progress, inspirations, and life in my studio.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think society has certainly improved in some respects and created larger gaps in others, in terms of supporting artists and facilitating a creative ecosystem. There’s an improved awareness of buying local art, buying directly from the artist, and recommending an artist – some of the most helpful ways to support creatives. From a broader scope, social media is perhaps the greatest tool for creatives outside of their physical materials. Instant connection with collectors, fans, galleries, and most importantly other artists. If used properly, it has the potential to launch careers and nourish artistic spirit. However, there’s a catch. It is so easy to get stuck scrolling, consuming our lives without us realizing how influenced we are. It’s also time-consuming to maintain a regular engagement schedule, creating and curating content to gain traction and preserve relevance. Overstimulation is a huge obstacle as well, causing creative stagnation. Any artist can tell you about their struggle with scammers congesting their comments and inboxes, or idle inquiries that take a lot of time to feel out. In a society where real life is dependent on digital appearance, these pitfalls cause harm to creatives in more ways than one. Many artists find incredible success on social media because they tailor their practice toward producing copious amounts of nearly meaningless content that keeps their engagement up, and not because of the quality of their art. There has been a broad shift toward art being more about the process than the product, and the digital landscape has definitely encouraged and expedited this expectation. I call it an expectation because simply showing a completed piece of art isn’t enough to make a sale, people want to see the process. But they also don’t want to see the actual process, they want to see a cinematized version of an artist living a precarious and moody lifestyle. Many successful female creatives online are regularly showing their face and body performing their “process” even though their product stands alone – that age-old entertainment industry adage known as “skin sells.”
I suppose this is merely a successful marketing strategy, but my point is that the ways in which society consumes contemporary art nourish only those artists who conform. An important mantra for creatives has always been to break the mold. Why are so many of us succumbing to the “supportive community” of literally unreal expectations? At this point, as it has always been, artists and creatives collectively hold the power to change the attitudes of society and provide support for each other. A thriving creative ecosystem is the same as a small-town community: its members are united behind grassroots efforts to better their conditions and support one another unconditionally. These communities create societal change.
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.
My husband and I talk about this all time. He is in a non-creative occupation. I’m a product of society, and since I criticize it so harshly, I also criticize myself with the same veracity. I have exuberantly high standards and many people have told me I’m difficult to deal with but somehow rarely unpleasant. My personal values are vastly misaligned from those of mainstream society, so much so that I’m often crippled by it. I’m a stereotype of a hermit artist, toiling on my work for at least 12 hours a day. Struggling to document it because my process is sacred to me. I simply don’t care what people think of that. Of course, I want more followers, more sales, and more interest in my art, but I’m unwilling to sacrifice the reality of my life to the programming of the outside world. To people with regular jobs, sociopolitical devotions, capitalist morals, material demands, clout glorifications, religious rituals, and an addiction to mirrored surfaces, I appear to be an aloof background character and possibly even a pretentious one. The truth is that I really am a background character, but with more substance than a non-creative would care to acknowledge. As an artist, my job is to absorb everything I can without judgement because empathy is clarity. I’m unsure if non-creatives will be able to see that we provide more to the world through creation and giving than through taking and possessing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artistmichelethompson.com
- Instagram: artistmichelethompson
Image Credits
Lindsay Askins – @lindsayaskins.co