Society of Women Artists Exhibition Mall Galleries 2025

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Miche

I am very happy to have had my work accepted for the Society of Women Artists Exhibition 24-28 June 2025 at the Mall Galleries in London. My piece is called ‘Leaning Out’ and is part of my Series ‘She Is Unknown’. All the work featured in this Series either involves no facial details, or no face at all. This is because women are so often judged on the beauty (or not) of our faces and I believe we are so much more than that. I began painting in my Line Art style when I was living in Cape Town 15 years ago. The sunshine and warmth inspired in me a love of bright colours in my work and I have only recently really realised that my Line Art is actually termed PopArt; I am happy with that. I also only recently discovered the work of Michael Craig-Martin whose paintings blew me away. Although I have been influenced by him in my newer use of ‘in your face’ colours, the subject matter is my own, as it is female centric. My other Series called ‘Alone Not Lonely’ is about navigating your life alone and to not be fearful. Grab…

‘Ageing’ or is it ‘Aging’

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Miche

I came across this quote by Bowie and it struck me as so true about my own art journey. As I go into my 70’s I am far happier in my own skin, and less concerned about what people think about my art. I feel a release. I started painting what I termed Line Art (PopArt) when I first lived in Cape Town back in 2008. I honestly have no idea where the idea came from; just to paint a black outline around (usually) a female form, using only neutral colour with a touch of red to add ‘zing’. My partner came up with the suggestion ‘Line Art’ and that sounded good. I now realise this is PopArt, but hey, I was green in those days. I would raid the local library for old fashion magazines to find some poses that drew my eye in, then adapt them for my own use and with the help of an ageing (aging?) large overhead projector, project my images onto large canvasses and off I went. Living in Cape Town I could make really large pieces and eventually a couple of galleries took me on and sales occurred. I write all the…

Change Is Good

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Miche

For some time I have been wrestling with going forward with my two styles of art, the small oil paintings of fruit/veg/flowers etc and the large acrylic LineArt/Pop Art pieces. I ended up getting ill trying to manage it all and with my enforced rest I made some decisions. I am putting the small oil paintings on hold for now. I will still be selling the larger prints of these artworks and also my greetings cards. www.juniqe.com always has a selection of my prints available and also www.northstreetgallery.com. If you are interested in any of those pieces, please get in touch, link at bottom of this post. My real passion though is for the PopArt which I have always labelled LineArt. I started painting in this style when I lived in Cape Town, the sunshine and bright colours there really inspired me. Personal circumstances meant I had to pause this for a while, but since discovering quite by chance the work of Michael Craig-Martin last autumn I am fired up again. Those colours! However my work is female related, by choice. I have two series on the go at the moment; ‘Alone Not Lonely’ about embracing and navigating life alone,…

Go Neutral or Go Michael Craig-Martin ?

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Miche

As we go into 2025 I am fired up with new ideas, which is a good thing for an artist. I show here two images of my work, both part of my Alone Not Lonely series. I’ve been asking for feedback on both and that’s been interesting and constructive. The first, neutral piece inspired more comments about how it showed the essence of being alone, possibly lonely, which is very much not what I am. But the sparseness of the colour does seem to invoke emptiness. The cheerful sunspex however, bely that image, which is very much what I WAS aiming for. The second colourful piece, the ‘Michael Craig-Martin’ effect (see previous post/blog), also invoked comments along the lines of yes, being alone, but somehow happier because of the colours. I used whatever colour I thought worked, so not necessarily what you would expect, but MCM suggests the eye can work out the colours and I found that a lightbulb moment for me. I would be interested in any feedback. Email michetoots@gmail or Instagram @michewatkins

‘A Contrasting Life’.

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Miche

I would like explain my two very different types of art and sizing/ prices, because I am conscious it looks a little strange on the viewing page of my website. I have yet to learn how to separate the two into different headings. I began painting the large acrylic pieces, what I describe as Line Art, or popart themed work when I lived in Cape Town and absolutely loved creating these works. I used to paint mainly women without any facial detail, so slightly more abstract and sparse in composition. They worked and sold well through galleries there. On returning to the UK for personal reasons, I had to rethink what I painted. I came up with the concept of small oil paintings of anything that caught my eye, fruit, veg, flowers, fish, bottles of wine, donuts, you get my drift. Again, these have done well. People like to have 2/3 in their kitchen and I use bright Mediterranean colours to cheer one up. I kept the price down deliberately, to encourage people who might be new to the world of buying original art. These pieces are painted alla prima, so again take less hours to paint than the Line…

Bath Society of Arts Exhibition/Michael Craig-Martin Exhibition

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Miche

2 reasons for me to celebrate this month. The first: My Line Art painting ‘Absolute Happiness’ part of my series ‘Alone Not Lonely’, was accepted into the Bath Society of Arts annual Exhibition which is on until the end of January 2025. I am delighted to be part of this uplifting Exhibition, do drop by if you are in Bath, the Victoria Gallery is right by Poultney Bridge, so nice and central. My Line Art acrylic work delves into themes of solitude and self-reflection, often using bold expressive brushstrokes and a vibrant palette. The colours are influenced by my years living in Cape Town where I first began developing the Line Art side of my art. My ‘Alone Not Lonely’ series explore the complexities of solitude and hopefully invite the viewer into a conversation about mental health, emotional resilience and the beauty of quiet introspection. The second reason to celebrate is the amazing Exhibition currently on at the Royal Academy in London by Michael Craig-Martin, a wonderful burst of colour and vibrancy which just blew my mind. I have only recently discovered his work (how did I not know him ?🤦‍♀️) in an article in The Times…

New Exhibition Riverside Studios Hammersmith London !

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Miche

I really love painting my Line Art acrylic pieces. I first developed this style when I lived in Cape Town and had a big studio and a market for large works in that beautiful city. These artworks are all 90 x 60 cm. Since I moved back to the UK, I did not have the space to paint in such a large style and so turned back to my first love of oil painting. I started painting my small 8” square pieces of anything that caught my eye and people buy 2/3 to hang in their kitchens or bedrooms. I’m always available for commissioned work. However recently I’ve had a hankering to get back to my Line Art and recently completed 3 pieces featuring swimming pools (I am a great fan of David Hockney). These paintings evolved around the theme of being alone, but never lonely. My beloved partner died 6 years ago and I have had to navigate life alone. I have children and grandchildren to keep me busy, I paint every day, and I also go happily on holiday alone, as I crave the sunshine having lived in beautiful Cape Town. I enjoy sitting by…

New Work at North Street Gallery

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Miche

It’s been a while but here we are. I have been busy providing new work for North Street Gallery which is in Bedminster, Bristol, UK. I manage the Gallery with 3 other artists and we promote local emerging artists alongside established ones. We are a community inspired Gallery and I absolutely love giving new artists a chance to promote their work in an established Gallery. North Street is buzzing these days, home to Upfest, the Urban Paint Festival which draws artists from all over the world. Bristol is a hub of creative talent and I am proud to be part of that magic. My latest paintings are all here on the website. The top 5 paintings have bespoke frames so are slightly more expensive than the four underneath. I decided to have 2 price structures as we are living in difficult times financially and art is a luxury. I also sell prints, the link is on my About Me page.

Chess Boards, Gallery reopening, hope. 20 March 21

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Miche

Well it’s been a while since my last Blog. Covid has come along and I don’t need to go into that as we’ve all been there. What it did was to change the way I paint, as witnessed by the smaller fruit and veg paintings you can see in the Catalogue at the top of the Home Page. I really enjoy painting these and they sell well. I paint anything that catches my eye, flowers, fruit, donuts, interesting veggies etc. They are framed in white and cost £70. I am also available for commissions. I also sell prints and you can find them at https://www.iamfy.co/shop/miche. Recently, with the success of the film ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, there has been an upsurge in playing chess, particularly online, and I have received a flurry of commission requests for specific chess piece compositions, as well as poker card and poker chip compositions. I am always happy to undertake commissions; the requests keep my own ideas fresh. Please DM or email me for more info and any of your own requests. I paint anything within reason 😜. With lockdown beginning to end, North Street Gallery is looking to reopen on April 12. 4 artists, including…

Gallery Reopening ! 27.06.2020

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Miche

This is exciting news indeed. North Gallery on North Street, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 1HT, UK has been refurbished, repainted and social distancing measures put in place, and it reopens on 4 July. The website is www.northgalleryworkspace.co.uk and any enquiries can be emailed to enquiries.northstreetgallery@gmail.com. We are always looking for new artists to show their work. 4 artists, including myself, have taken on the management of the gallery and are keen to promote local artists. Bristol is a real Centre for art including Upfest, the Urban Paint Festival, the centre of which takes place on our very own North Street, and is known worldwide, and of course we are home to Banksy….. I shall be showing my small paintings, all of which are catalogued here, along with some new work, and I will have cards available as well. I am also now undertaking commissions, so if you would like to let me know colour preferences to suit your home, I am very happy to do this. Likewise which fruit, vegetables, flowers, donuts (and now lipsticks) you would like in the compositions. The size is always 8 x 8” framed in white, oil on paper, £65. I keep being told to…

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