A Great Artist - Michelle Schaefer

Painting scenery in vibrant colors, Michelle Schaefer impressions us the emotion and majesty of scenery.  Michelle has a few categories of scenery art from different places, but I have to say I enjoy the SouthWest the best.

You can feel the arid air and the hot sun and the cool shade in her Cliff Palace depicting the Anasazi cliff village in the Mesa Verde National Park.  Love how the oranges and browns clash with the blues and greens, the inorganic and the organic in mutual harmony.  Then there's the stark unforgiving brightness of the sun.





Then theres the interpretation of Van Gogh's Starry Night brought to a Southwest village in Michelle's A Pueblo Starry Night.  She captures the watery flow of the renown artist in the sky, tree, and landscape below.  She adds the contrasting blues and oranges depicting hardness and softness with grace.  Isn't life full of such harsh times and beautiful times?





Michelle's website is worth the visit and her artwork is worth the cost.  You can find her website here.

Artist Writer, Soul Bleeder

As an artist writer I'm very much aware of the cost to me.  Artists put their soul into their work.  It really doesn't matter what the medium is, pencil & paper, ink & pen, clay, artifacts, chalk, buildings...etc...etc, its all a soul expression.  This leaves the artist vulnerable.  They react with emotion at the smallest complement or critique.  It would seem wise to figure out a way to protect oneself from this vulnerability being treaded upon.

I have a friend who has been a writer since childhood.  She was a prodigy in her time.  Yet over the years it has cost her.  It has cost her to the point where she does not want to write.  She shouldn't write if she sees it as a form of past abuse.

Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Robert Downey Jr., to name a couple, have paid the price of their soul being abused.  Celebrities have long turned to alcohol, drugs, sex addiction and a myriad of other things because their souls were being trampled on.  Schedules, demands, and other pressures kill off the artist a little bit at a time.

Balance is the key.  A soul needs balance.  Balance with rest and balance with work is a must.  When under pressure, the artist often feels frustrated, depressed, etc.  Recreation can help and also meditation.  Getting grounded, feeling renewed is the goal.  Some artists best work is done when they were alone.  Their thoughts come together and they can concentrate.

Everyone learns and think differently.  Find what works for you.  And be aware that it may change over time.