Painter



Waikato born self taught artist paints bold, sensual, and tasteful detailed figurative acrylic works mostly, wildlife and dearly loved family members. Michelle is inspired by both the female and male body, creating bold romantic boudoir images with soft fur wraps, alluring lingerie and jewellery for the female figure and masculinity, strength and protection for the male figures. Commissions are welcomed. 

Over the last 18 months Michelle has been selling her work to clients in New Zealand and Australia, her work having been appraised in the UK and NZ on behalf of a NZ art investment collector, who has since acquired five of her works.  In early 2010 she joined up with the NZ Art Guild, has been exhibiting in The Original Art Sale 2010/2011. Featured in the Pinknoise Zine online magazine, and donated an original painting towards their 2011 Pink Noise Art Appeal for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal with the artists fundraising getting over the $10,000 mark. And her work has been published in SLAM February 2010, an overseas magazine based in Florida, USA. 

To view a seletion of Michelle's work click here

www.michellethorby.co.nz
www.facebook.com/michellethorby

A few Questions I asked Michelle

What factors in your life do you believe played a significant part in you becoming an artist? 
I have found that throughout my life I have always wanted to create, in my younger years I was a very enthusiastic doodler and illustrator of my father's and grandmother's horse racing albums with the thelwell ponies featuring significantly, highschool art was my favourite subject, wanting to create a garden at each new abode we have lived in thanks to the encouragement and enthusiasm of my both my grandmothers and mum in law. 

What process do you tend to follow when creating a new piece of art?
Sometimes an idea will germinate, I will do the sketch and it will grow in my mind, and be completed several years later ie my mothers portrait of her to show her battle with her two heart operations; a recent portrait of my great grandmother who died tragically ~ something that I wanted to be sure that I could do create and do a decent painting of her, this one goes right back to my highschool years!  A title of a song I am listening to will inspire a piece of art for me as well, images I see everywhere are potential paintings.  

Where do you seek inspiration for your art, what inspires you? 
My anatomy books, part of an image in a (Playboy) magazine, even a movie scene. 

What is your favourite colour and why?
Blood red seems to be my favourite colour, its one the I use the most and always buying tubes of it, to me red is perfect for most of my erotic art, conveying the bare human thoughts of love, passion and lust. 

What are the ten most interesting things you have done or that have happened to you that have contributed to your art career? 
1.  Probably driving my highschool art teacher mad initially by my slack attitude to being serious about my art at school, not realising my potential at that stage.
2.  Empty nest syndrome coming up and joining up with a basic acrylics course (6 lessons) via ArtBuzz in Tauranga which then set off a chain of events. 
3.  Meeting the lovely Kate Jones Madill and Hayley Brown, seeing their art and going to exhibitions of theirs in Tauranga, a totally new experience for me. 
4.  Joining the Tauranga Society of Artists and being part of their exhibitions, and selling some paintings through that as well was a real thrill for me, getting to meet other artists and see their work and all the variety that they encircled.  Also applying for and being accepted into the Garden and Art Festival, Tauranga 2004 ~ and seeing my name in print in the advertising booklet!
5.  Being brave enough or mad enough to actually make a little studio at Oropi, Tauranga and paint a little sign "Mainly Nudes" and just put it out on the roadside, a very nerve wracking but rewarding experience with people coming in to see my work, selling them and getting my first commissions as well. 
6.  Leaving the BOP, and moving to Waikato was just the reboot I needed to start painting again, after having 3 years basically of not being "able" to produce work due to family commitments. Starting to paint the nudes and with more of the erotic genre was the starting point to bigger things happening.
7.  Creating my own facebook artpage was quite terrifying, uncertain of the response and if I was just kidding myself, and being thrilled when I had 10 fans, now I have over 600 fans from all over the world, and this has been a great tool for selling my paintings by and being discovered by overseas people. Through this SLAM magazine (USA) found me, and I was part of their February 2010 magazine which was very exciting for me.
8.  Endeavouring to make my own website via webwidgets, along with the help of my son Rowan, and I did succeed eventually ~ not being that great on the computer tech side initially was difficult, so quite proud of this website of mine. 
9.  Joining the NZ Art Guild in early 2010 and meeting the lovely Sophia Elise, who has been hugely encouraging to me. Being part of their exhibitions through the year, and successfully selling some work.  Being part of the fundraisingcollaborative artists project for the Mental Health Association was rewarding. 
10. Through the NZ Art Guild, being aware of the opportunities out there for artists, being accepted into the Original Art Sale in 2010 and again in 2011 is wonderful, entering my great grandmothers portrait "Annie" into the Wai Art Portrait Awards this year, and meeting other artists in NZ and worldwide, being inspired and encouraged and becoming friends with my fellow Facebook artist friends has been a huge plus for me!  

What would others say are your five personality pluses?
Enthusiastic, encouraging, supportive, funny and postive  

What do you love about being an artist?
Being able to create a painting that brings joy and happiness to people that view them and purchase them, being able to do a commission for someone and for them to be thrilled to bits with the end result.  

What exhibitions are you most proud of? 
The Garden & Art Festival 2004 in Tauranga, my first major one I felt ~ Participating in the first NZ Art Guild exhibition, Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland - so excited going up there for the Opening Night and being part of it all, having my family and friends experiencing the atmosphere together. Being the sole erotic art exhibitor at the Erotica Expo in Auckland 2010 in August, where I had painted like a mad woman for months and was able to have about 55 paintings there to show. "It Must Be Love" Exhibition at the Wallace Gallery, Morrinsville January/February 2011 To me this was my first "real gallery" exhibition and being selected was quite a thrill for me, and selling two of my paintings there to one person was very exciting!  Having my mum and dad there on the opening night, along with my other family dearest was quite an honour for me too. Wai Art Portrait Awards, Carteron in March 2011.

What professional and personal obstacles have you overcome to get where you are today?
Probably the main obstacle was a personal issue of a family member being badly injured in a car/truck accident, and being the main caregiver for her initially ~ and with other health problems arising from this it stopped my ability to be in the right frame of mind to paint, to be able to paint. This was over a period of three years, quite an emotionally charged time actually.  

What training/education you have completed, and what did you gain from those experiences? Also include non-art training that contributes to your worldview. 
I have had no formal training with my art, only ever completed art at 5th form year level at highschool, and did the 6 week course at Art Buzz learning the basic acrylics course. I would buy the Australian Artist magazines and do the "how to paint" this work, going through the steps, and recreating that image. Going to exhibitions and closely looking at the work, seeing the layers unfolding onto the canvas and experimenting at home generally, giving away most of my early works to family members.  

What associations are you associated with and in what ways? How does each organisation contribute to your art career or personal development?
NZ Art Guild ~ I have my artist profile and some of my work on their site, and I have enjoyed being part of their exhibitions during 2010.  Their site is a great artists information source of all the upcoming exhibitions, competitions, blogs and ongoing support and advice to members. 
My facebook page has been wonderful in the fact that I have met online so many other artists and come to know them, being able to interact, see each others work, help promote their pages on my page as well. This has been quite successful in selling my work as well, with art investors coming to know of my art, purchasing my art and knowing that they have been appraised in the UK and in NZ and them buying more was fantastic. Wallace Gallery, Morrinsville has contributed towards my career in the fact that it's just more exposure for my work, and selling two of my three paintings exhibited there was huge for me. 

How do you spend your time outside the studio, including hobbies, interests, sports, family? 
My interests are varied and I am passionate about gardening, my family and my first grandson!, sports like equestrian having been part of the scene during my earlier years, love playing golf, watching tennis, rugby, dining out, catching up with friends, going to art exhibitions, In what ways are you making a difference in people's lives? For some reason I find that over the years I have been a great sounding board for friends and family; people I have just met on the golf course feel comfortable in expressing their difficult or worrying times, I hope that I help them by being there to listen to them, offer advice when needed, encourage them, be empathetic.  I love being able to "help" out anyone that needs it, old dears in the supermarket struggling with those annoying plastic fruit bags ~ I stop and open them up for them, reach up for the tins that the little ladies cant reach. Ive helped other artists on facebook with their pages, passing on my new found skills on the computer lol !! this is how you copy and paste haha, links etc.  

Why is art an important part of our everyday lives? 
The pastime of painting to me in my everyday life is important as it a period of time when I can go to my extra happy place, be at one with the music playing, my own thoughts and dreams, the creation of the painting coming together over time is very rewarding to me. 

What creative ideas and plans are in the pipeline for the next 12 months? 
I would like to concentrate on more portraiture work, and paint more of my family members. Continue with the NZ Art Guild exhibitions, and hopefully work towards a solo exhibition in the next 12 months.  

What makes you laugh out loud? 
My family and our dinners together, my fathers and brothers jokes, my little grandson antics at different times, comedy, jim carrey movies.  

What is your perfect Sunday? 
I do like to have a "Sunday lunch" with my family gathered around the table, sometimes its a bit of a squish, enjoying catching up with them, having a few vinos with delicious food. 

What do people say about your work? 
It depends on what genre I have been painting, I do enjoy the feedback on my paintings, especially the gallery curator saying my portrait of Annie was "stunning" 
Who is your favourite Artist, and why? 
Probably Salvador Dali ~ he was the first artist that I really noticed back in highschool, his wild imagination and the creativity of his work. Then again, I adore Frida Kahlo for her style and the subjects of painting, she did what she wanted to do and buggar what others think. Another one is Tamara de Lempicka that caught my eye when seeing her art, and only recently learning more about her through good old Google.