THE ARTWORK OF MICHELLE MAY

EARTH DAY IS EVERY DAY . CELEBRATE OUR BLUE SPACES

michelle may is a contemporary expressionist painter, making work that draws from nature, history and place.

Michelle May is an artist, independent curator, and arts advocate. Currently, she is focused on the preservation of blue spaces through her abstract series, COAST.

After an introduction to travel, she had the great opportunity to experience multicultural environments visiting different parts of the world: Eastern Europe, Western Europe with road trips across Italy, France and Spain, as well as visiting the islands of Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, Eleuthera and Antigua, combined with discovering more of United States. Travel has greatly informed her artwork. During a stay in Tortola, following the destruction of Hurricane Irma, May began to focus on her attraction to blue spaces and their preservation. Seeing the coral reefs decay within a year, her work began to subconsciously reflect the emotional impact of what she was experiencing. Michelle presented COAST | Preservation of Our Blue Spaces at JMAC Worcester in March 2024. She is currently seeking international social, political and environmental platforms to exhibit her work to push her call to action.

Currently living in Massachusetts. May has exhibited locally since 2012, but much of her focus is on arts advocacy, balancing her art practice with helping others. In 2009 she founded Cirque du Noir, a fundraiser celebrating the creative culture of Worcester and donating proceeds to area 501 (c)3s. She was involved with stART on the Street, Pecha Kucha and in many collaborative exhibitions. She is a member of ArtsWorcester.

Michelle May is also the co-founder of Atelier ID Global, a branding and marketing agency focused on elevating businesses who are going “good work”. She is also the co-founder of Juniper Rag, an art and lifestyle platform using the power of marketing to elevate significant artists, connect them with new audiences and opportunities.

COAST SERIES

COAST is a new series I have been working on exclusively since 2022. Isolation of the pandemic really helped me focus on making this specific work. Over the years I witness the gradual decline of coral reefs that global warming has affected in the British Virgin Islands. A coastal place that holds my heart, especially after hurricanes Irma and Maria decimated the islands and then they were hit with Covid-19, further damaging tourism. This series was painted in celebration of this place and the blue spaces. My formative years were impacted greatly by growing up in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on boats and around the water. A connection was made to water very early on in my life.

I hope that viewing my work reminds you of time by the ocean and prompts a call to action in helping to preserve these precious spaces.

“Life is a garden, not a road. We enter and exit through the same gate. Wandering, where we go matters less than what we notice.”

— Kurt Vonnegut.

Snorkeling Eustastia Reef, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, video @captainbvi

AN ATTRACTION TO BLUE SPACES—

Inspired by time spent near the water, COAST is a series I began out of an urgency for balance in my own life. Being by the coast, the air, the weather, the history of place, and the heightening of senses bring balance and energy to me, a constant since childhood. I always found that being at our Cape house brought me so much happiness and balance. I hope my paintings bring memories to viewers of precious time at the coast. My art comes from my subconscious. Through art, the wild, untamed parts of humans can find a root and grow to the surface. We seek ways to let internal feelings free and working on this collection is the unfurling of my attraction to blue spaces.

In challenge or celebration, I am constantly drawn to the water’s edge like a magnet, seeking solitude, beauty and energy. I am so connected to the ocean, natural spaces and salty atmosphere. Coupled with the visual audacity of the landscapes of the Cape in Massachusetts and what I have seen of the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, there is a constant yearning to be near blue water. There is science connected to the brain’s recognition of color for humans and animals. Reflected wavelengths of color hit us like a drug. Colorful water is probably as close as humans can get to seeing ultraviolet light. Humans need water and are drawn to it for survival and so pervasive is our love for it. According to Wallace Nichols in his book Blue Minds, being near water “improves performance, increases calm, diminishes anxiety, and increases professional success”.

To the contrary, deep oceans also bring respect, apprehension and sometimes fear. Perhaps it is the contrast that deepens my attraction. Respecting this great unknown is always a priority when I look out onto that horizon. Unplugging and reconnecting with myself by the water is truly what leads me. It is spiritual for me.

A CALL TO ACTION—

My intention is that COAST SERIES inspires more people to think and act in positive ways to preserve our waters. Our world and our weather is changing rapidly with global warming. Each year the visible differences cause anxiety and panic in me. Urgently, conservation and preservation need to be at the forefront of our minds. Personally, I have seen in just a few years how coral reefs are dying at extreme rates and it feels like the powers of the world are not acting in haste. I hope friends, family and strangers who see my work are prompted to remember valuable time at the coast and act in some way to help preserve our planet.

INSPIRATION…

Textures
Reefs
Corals
Colors
Nature
Botanica
Beauty
home
Decay
History

MARKETING SERVICES & ART COLLECTION CONSULTING

Commissions from me are available, however, in-home art consultations and art procurement services of other artists who suit a world of tastes are also available through our Juniper Rag network. If it is not my art that is suiting your fancy, I have access to hundreds of skilled artists in all genres of visual art. We host over 8 exhibitions a year, virtually and in-person. We collaborate with art organizations and non-profits for curation and fundraising.

I am also the co-founder of Atelier ID Global, a design and marketing agency that provides design and digital marketing services worldwide.