Anyone who enjoys her paintings, or has not yet seen the work of local artist Michelle Brown, has a chance to view her work at Showcase Gallery in the South Cariboo Business Centre (475 Birch Ave.) this month.
The 108 Mile Ranch artist’s work will be on display until Oct. 3, and includes a lovely and colourful selection of her floriculture collection.
Brown says she used mostly acrylics, and a few oils, to express her artistic talents in this show, under a theme of a “zoomed in look” at flowers.
“I like to look at details and … I’m obsessed with anything in nature, and so just a few years ago, I started looking at flowers closely.”
She begins by taking photographs of flowers and then recreates them in her paintings.
Brown says her floral works depicted in this show are inspired by the blooms in her own garden and others from around the province.
“One was from a cabbage we had last winter in our pots on the front porch.”
Noting she was fascinated by the delicate transition of colours, Brown says Bloomin’ Cabbage pays homage to Georgia O’Keeffe, one of her favourite flower painters.
“I’ve got landscapes, and I’ve recently been [painting images of] cows and some abstract work, but I still keep doing flowers – I never stopped.”
Brown adds she exhibits her work locally, in the Okanagan and in Vancouver.
She recently displayed pieces at the Cariboo Artists Guild’s summer mixed-artist show at Parkside Art Gallery in 100 Mile House.
“I usually do a flower show with the Federation of Canadian Artists [on Granville Island] every spring, and so far, I’ve [been] to every show, so I’m very fortunate.
“I was accepted in Kamloops in a national competition; it was an abstract though. Last year, I was encouraged to do an international conference in Vancouver of my Rocks [painting], and I’ve done Art Attack [in Vancouver].”
The local artist notes she recently added anatomy (in sports figures) to her repertoire of images that she recreates in her art.
She has “dabbled in painting” since she was about age seven, and even majored in fine arts.
Born and raised in Abbotsford, Brown obtained a Bachelor of Arts at Trinity Western University with an eye toward teaching art, but then decided she didn’t want to follow that path.
“I took some time off to pursue other career aspirations, but then [a few years ago] I realized how much I missed it.
“I was tired of the ‘rat race’ and not having creative time and time for my daughter.”
After Brown moved to the South Cariboo in 2013, she rekindled a more serious interest in her talents as a profession.
She continues her passion for painting with a focus on flowers and landscapes inspired by her travels around British Columbia – and her backyard garden.
