Far Away, 2008, Oil, graphite and colored pencil on paper, 20” by 24”
The work of Michelle Bolinger, my painting teacher from last quarter. Her work is lovely and not quite what I’d expect from her. Her typical palette reminds me simultaneously of Japan and Sedona, Arizona, with white-washed, watery colors bleeding into each other. Meanwhile she’s such a Chicago person.
I don’t know what I expected to see, but Michelle definitely has a unique urban understanding. In her creative statement she says she uses candies (such as jellybeans and gumdrops) to locate herself when assigning select forms to reference landscapes, landmasses and urban divisions. I like her more than ever!
