Vanessa A. Michalak

Region: Northeast

Website: https://vanessamichalak.com/home.html

City / State: Gloucester, MA

My paintings are inspired by a love of nature and the desire to escape the urban environment. Through a synthesis of memories, imagination, and found photos, I feed my craving for exploration, adventure, and personal freedom in images depicting rural landscapes. Unexpected color and inventive brushwork blend representation with abstraction, constructing worlds that are dreamlike yet familiar. Although the paintings depict naturalistic forms, human interaction with the landscape is always present. Figures move through forests, and viewers are forced to make their way through overgrown paths. Temporary dwellings within the landscape allude to impermanence. The paintings are a reflection of my inner restlessness and longing to reconnect with nature.