FLUID ART

By Michele Wilcox

I was born and raised in Cambridge, England, with my two brothers, arriving in New Zealand when I was 26. I have always lived in Auckland and I now live in rural Upper Waiwera with my husband, son, dog, two cats and 3 goats!

My passion for painting began 3 years ago as scrapbooking was my hobby for years. I was flicking through You Tube looking for some inspiration and I was fascinated by Fluid Art Painting; the vibrant colours, the designs and patterns caught my eye. There are so many variations of ways you can use the paint as well as so many tools you can use, some of which you find in your own kitchen cupboards - funnels, cookie cutters, vegetable strainers, etc, to mention just a few!

To start I used small canvases of different sizes and shapes, as well as different paint surfaces, for example, wood, mirror and glass. I prefer working mainly on wood and canvas as well as using different combinations of colours. Mixing colours and making my own colours is such fun. It’s still a challenge so I refer to my colour charts quite often.

Acrylic paints are my favourites but I do mix them with various mediums depending what consistency I need at the time. As you can see by my paintings there are different techniques; swiping, tilting, blowing and ‘balloon kisses’ and the outcomes are very different.

I was soon running out of room at home so a friend of mine, who runs the local market once a month, persuaded me to take a stall. I had such a great response, many lovely comments and compliments, and even selling a few, which gave me the encouragement to go bigger.

I have also applied resin to quite a few pieces which I’m excited about and I’ve also made a beautiful splash-back for my newly renovated bathroom.

Painting is so rewarding in so many ways, it’s relaxing that I lose myself in it. I can paint outside on lovely warm summer days, or in the winter on a cold blustery day you will find me in my spare room creating. I sold my first commission piece (the largest I have ever done) last month and it was lovely to see it hanging on my clients wall. She was so thrilled with it she has commissioned another five more!

The thing I love most about it, is that there is no right or wrong way or outcome, I just follow my creative flow. If I don’t like it I just scrape it and start again or tweak it until I am happy with it. I hate to waste paint so if I do scrap it, the paint ends up in a pot which I will inevitably use as part of a background or even part of the finished work!

We are so lucky to have so many paint choices, metallic, opaque, satins and pearls. You can use just a small amount to make a massive effect - I love it!

Contact me at artcreationsbymichele@gmail.com if you’re interested in my work.