Michelle Chrisman has been making her living as a full-time oil painter and instructor for over 30 years. She is a Plein Air Outdoor Painter of the New Mexico landscapes, & a Contemporary Figure & Still-Life painter. Michelle’s work is represented by The Signature Galleries in Santa Fe, NM & Scottsdale, AZ., Wilder Nightingale Gallery in Taos, NM, The Abiquiu Inn, Romero Street Gallery, Old Town & Weems Gallery, Albuquerque, NM.

Michelle is a contemporary Colorist/Expressionist Oil Painter grounded in the Principals of Impressionism: how light works in the natural world.

I love the visual beauty of the deserts of New Mexico & Arizona. What excites me most about painting is “seeing” the abstract shapes & patterns in the visual world and the sensual quality of palette knife oil painting. “I finish my work in one session, on location, ‘Alla Prima!’ “My most exciting moments painting outdoors is when I feel engulfed by the outdoor sensations, allowing myself to paint quickly ‘on the edge of disaster!’ “Painting quickly with thick oil paint using palette knives, feeling and sculpting the earthly forms.”

Michelle is a well-known Plein Air Painting Instructor, teaching at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu & Contemporary Figure & Still-Life Painting for The New Mexico Art League in Albuquerque. She has long been a Signature Member of Plein Air Painters of New Mexico.

“I have been teaching Plein Air Painting Workshops at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu for 25 years. We spend a week completely focused on painting! It is great fun!”

Email: michellechrisman78@gmail.com

Website: michellechrisman.com