My subject matter is simple but conscientious. I choose familiar items that are close to hand in my home that I can arrange just so. I often wander out to the garden and take cuttings of whatever is sprouting that day. There is a wild area in the back of my garden with gnarled apple trees, hawthorn hedges and plenty of weeds. I can usually find something interesting there.
 

I like to incorporate elements of nature into my paintings or cuttings that will inevitably wilt and die. There is a poignancy in that knowledge that I am simply capturing the briefest of moments. 

I vary between overhead and face on compositions, simply to capture the subject as truthfully as I can, in soft natural light. My aim is to convey a quiet, contemplative mood and an appreciation and elevation of what can seem ordinary to most.

BIO

Michelle Kettle is a visual artist from Loughshinny, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
 

She studied ceramics at the National College of Art and Design and upon graduating in 2009, moved to Melbourne, Australia. Without the immediate use of a kiln, she began painting. After twelve years in Melbourne, she moved back to Ireland with her family at the end of 2021 and now resides in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan.
 

"I've been fortunate to move my practice into a beautifully renovated studio in my new home town of Carrickmacross. I am very grateful to have a work space that I can walk to every day.

In Melbourne, I had been primarily focused on the depiction of architecture but with the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, my work inevitably shifted with this new confinement. My subject matter became items I found in my home instead of buildings I discovered while exploring. Thus began my fascination with still life painting. I love creating compositions I can orchestrate and arrange to my own advantage."