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Artist Statement

 

The Full Story

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I dig into and alter the traditional qualities of composition, pattern and line in my abstract encaustic monotypes. Staying curious and unattached to outcomes are the creative principles in my studio.

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My favorite memories are of summers; sun-drenched, salty days spent shell collecting and laughing with family and friends along the beaches of California. Now, I much prefer the beach in winter time. The solitude, the sense of cold sand underfoot and the power of steely, moody waves covering the beach like a worn, heavy quilt. It's my refuge for creative inspiration brought forth from the sounds, smells and textures of a gray, overcast shoreline.

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My work builds upon this life-long relationship with the sea and nature itself. It's not representational or literal but it's hinted at in the movement of the wax, the layers of pigment and textures. It's in the materials that are the foundations of each piece; the bees wax, the tree resin,

the water, the heat, the paper.

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My heart is filled with sand, but in the best way possible. 

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Artist Bio

 

About Michelle Hernandez

 

Michelle Hernandez was born and raised on the beaches of Orange County, California when groves of orange and lemon trees were fragrant and abundant. The self-taught artist holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Design and carved her niche in the design field as an interior consultant on color, furniture fabrication, art and antiques for over 25 years. Michelle's aesthetic, which appears throughout her abstract encaustic collages and monotypes, are expressions of personal passages and her relationship with nature and human design.  

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Currently Michelle splits her time between the shores of New Jersey and Southern California.

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