Creatively Featured - Michelle Alkerton

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday! Quick round-up of happenings here:

• We're having an ATC Swap! Find out more HERE.
• The monthly challenge is in full swing! Check it out HERE. We also added a button on the sidebar that links to the monthly challenge so you can find it easier. 
• I'm looking for more artists for Creatively Featured! Please email me (Heather) if you are interested.

This week we are welcoming the wonderful Michelle Alkerton. You can find her at her blog Brain Angles - Invisible Ink.

Tell us about blogging and how it's worked for you.
I was finding my Zoomshare website too difficult to maintain and updates weren’t getting much traffic so I thought blogging was a better alternative. I had intended it more for my writing, but became more involved and confident in visual and tactile art. Now I tend to share more art and less words, oftentimes posting more than once a day.

What inspires or influences you artistically?
Everything inspires me. lol I love texture, light, shadow and nature. One of the things I love most about the internet is the wide range of artistic talent I find that gets me thinking in a new direction and helps keep my creative passion alive.


Which aspect of your art do you enjoy most?
I probably enjoy imagining a piece the most, although it makes it difficult to get any sleep. I have yet to create what I visualize in my mind, but I’ve come close a few times. I also love experimenting with new materials and techniques.

Have you exhibited work or taught classes?
I exhibit my work online through my Picasa albums and my blog and have exhibited a few pieces in the local annual art show. I don’t have the skills, patience or energy to teach, but would love to take some classes.


How do you go about the design process?
I guess you would call most of my design process intuitive, although I have attempted some form of discipline by roughing out some ideas on the computer.


Do you work to a design or theme or just go with the flow…or something else entirely?
Even when I begin with a design or theme, I usually end up going with the flow which results in pleasant surprises. When working with actual paint and canvas it more often results in what I refer to as tortured canvasses with too many layers of paint and gesso. lol

Can you tell us a little about your methods and/or techniques?
A large part of my work is what I call digital mixed media. I will usually start a piece using a traditional medium and then photograph it in it’s different stages. I then play with the resulting image on the computer and use various graphics programs to arrive at a whole new piece of art. I tend to like my digital pieces better than the traditional ones as I have very little patience and love the UNDO command. Since I have difficulty with my hands it is usually a better and more satisfying option. 

I also create what I call photopaintings, where I manipulate a photograph with one or more graphics programs to give it an artistic or painterly effect and since recently discovering a painting program called ArtRage, I have made more attempts at art that is created entirely digital.


I’ve always enjoyed combining my creative interests and am constantly amazed by and grateful for the software developers that create the wonderful programs that enable me to experiment and make my work look good. Years ago I felt it couldn’t be considered art if it wasn’t created on paper or canvas with pencil, paint or other traditional medium, but I’m glad I broadened my views. Now, it doesn’t matter how it’s created, the result is my art and helps me share my world and maybe inspire others.

What artistic plans do you have for the coming year?
I hope to develop more mixed media abstracts, play more with texture and experiment with watercolour and ink in the coming year. I would also like to participate more in the local art community and have already started in that direction through the contacts I made at the last annual art show.