Michelle Renee Pupetz

Year of birth: 1969
Where do you live: Vancouver British Columbia, Canada
Your education: 3 Years BA Dalhousie University, various art classes, self taught
Describe your art in three words: nature, honest and soothing
Your discipline: watercolor, gouache, acrylic, oil pastel and other mediums
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You mentioned that you began painting seriously last year and have painted every day. How has this daily practice influenced your growth as an artist?

Before I had my two children, I was painting with acrylic on canvas. I also took some art classes: color theory, working with acrylics etc..but mostly just loosely painted. I stopped painting completely to raise my children and work. Two years ago I suddenly developed a 24/7 vestibular migraine. I was homebound for months. My father died during that time and there was so much to do and I couldn’t even be in a moving vehicle.I couldn’t look at anything moving, watch  television/screens, go shopping etc..Last year I thought I would try painting or drawing again. I found myself immersed and it didn’t trigger my migraines so much. All I could really do was paint and it was all I really wanted to do. I especially enjoyed watercolor and gouache. Having all of this time to paint daily has really given me lots of opportunities to develop my skills; intuitively and technically. I have no reason to stop. I no longer work at my former job and my children are teenagers now. I’m now doing this full time.

Being surrounded by artists your whole life, what lessons or techniques did you absorb just from observing them?

Well, I remember looking at my grandfather’s art when I was young and feeling so proud and fascinated by what he did and how he did it. He would do paintings. Usually with a religious theme. I think he even did a mural in a hospital. He liked to make ships and sailboats. Really intricate detailed ones.I would look them over and study them and ask questions like how did he do the smoke from the ships’ smoke stack ?etc…My father used to do wood carvings/whittling of animals when I was a child. I always thought they were quite good.He would do it in front of me with a bucket in front of him and would tell me what he was doing and get me to try. I was afraid of cutting myself but he would always try to teach me these things. I was told later that he was also artistic in other ways as well. I was in a relationship with someone while he was in Art school. I would often be his subject in his photographs/projects etc and went along with him on various assignments and also spent a lot of time in the dark room learning how to develop film and watch and learn how to use old cameras etc..I think I was absorbing everything because I can see the skills I learned or observed in photography in my artwork.. I like to paint my own photos. Sometimes I will paint other people’s photos. It usually starts there. Composition is very important to me.It’s probably the most important part of the process for me. The first thing that makes me jump up and run to the table to start painting.Being brave and delving into new territory in my art I get from my father…

Michele Renee Pupetz, The inlet

Your health challenges have clearly had a profound impact on your art practice. How do you think painting helps you cope with your vestibular migraine?

When I paint, time stops for me. I am fully engaged in the process. This is definitely very therapeutic for me and my condition. It also placed me in a zone where I feel completely free, honest and myself. I have been working through the grief of the loss of my father and also the loss of the many things I can no longer do. My former life. I have also discovered parts of myself I have never known before. Hidden treasures.It feels like I have started a very important chapter in my life.Whereas before , at one point, I couldn’t see a way out of the mess I was in.

How has your experience of nature changed since you started painting, especially in terms of finding beauty in the ‘dullest’ places?

I think what I was trying to express was that nature has all of these beautiful details that may seem ‘boring’ or ‘dull’ to some and even myself before I started this process.I get excited over pretty much any cloud or the way a tree is moving in the wind. Everything in nature excites and inspires me now. Even the smallest details. It’s great to be alive!

Michelle Renee Pupetz, Low tide

You often choose subjects in nature that are overlooked, like a Salmonberry bursting out of winter. What draws you to these details?

That’s a tough one to answer. I’m not entirely sure what ‘draws’ me to them but i”ve always been attracted to things that are ‘different’ or even ‘odd’ . I’m always on the side of the underdog in a sense. I find beauty in the strange and also the lonely..The salmonberry is probably my favorite painting. It was while discovering, photographing and painting this scene, that I realized that this is where I belong. Perhaps it’s also because I can identify with that salmonberry blossom. I can feel its joy of being alive in winter.Even though it’s the only Salmonberry blossom, it’s not truly alone. Maybe an allegory of my own circumstances.

Can you describe your process when you paint nature scenes that aren’t typically portrayed as “beautiful” in mainstream art?

Usually, I’m out wandering with my children or just myself. I live in a very beautiful, lush area. The salmon run is just a couple of blocks from here. The ocean, beaches,lakes and rivers are nearby. I live surrounded by mountains. We have bears and other animals, birds, vegetation etc So lots of opportunities to find subjects for artwork close by. But I usually take photos of things that inspire me. Sometimes,.If I find something intriguing I will photograph it and take it home and paint it right away but usually I take several photos that I save to look at another time and I often get inspired by a certain detail in the photo and build the scene around it. Sometimes I add or remove details to make it more in line with my aesthetic or I will just have an idea or image pop up in my mind and go from there.

How has the connection between painting and healing influenced your relationship with art and life?

I have more trust in the process of living and feel more confident going forward in all areas of my life. I see the world differently now than I did before I embarked on this journey.I appreciate life so much more.

Michelle Renee Pupetz, Salmon berry blossom in winter