Michelle Jardines specializes in abstract landscapes. She uses layers to capture spaces and moments that add dynamic depth to her unique landscapes. She works the canvas by painting from the top left to the right side of the canvas and then downward as if writing a letter. Her technique allows the image to evolve and unveil itself as the sky develops and melts into the landscape to complete the painting. Upon completion, her creative vision can be experienced by others.
As a first generation Cuban-American, her heritage has highly influenced her style that is exemplified in her body of work. Jardines is known for her bold hues of blues and greens and her abstract impressionistic approach. Her paintings have continually evolved over the past 5 years with each series leaving the audience with a sense of calm and connection to nature.
Today, she creates landscapes of complex space that subtly depict the hidden female form using oil, ink and vine. The tension and peaceful release in her paintings is sustained by the composition and the surface quality of the artwork. Using various blending techniques, each brushstroke is applied with intention, conveying every gesture and decision that evokes a peacefulness to the subject. This unpredictable, activated surface represents the human experience of being surrounded by nature thereby creating calmness and empathy in the work. Land is her greatest collaborator, and as she continues to use the natural environment as a prominent setting throughout her career, it helps her express the body's place within the physical world and its relationship to nature and movement.
Connecting to her surroundings and emotional reflection are both important to the artist. While painting, she explores the spiritual fragility of her environment and human emotion and how it can be expressed through her artwork. She is beginning to explore feminine mysticism in her work since she often embraces her own feminine spirit unapologetically and with copious amounts of joy.
Michelle provides the artistic perspective she hopes to convey to her audience:
“My intention as an artist is to transfer my deep thoughts into meticulous brush strokes. That instant of sublimation where my impulse transforms what I create into a moment that stands still in the audience’s mind. In return, my desire is that it brings them calmness and connection...like a divine dream allowing me to release my initial thoughts through painting. A harmonious peace between the audience and artist is then created.”
Michelle’s work is represented by Art and Light Gallery in Greenville, SC. Since moving to Greenville, SC in 2015, she has participated in numerous exhibitions and introduced her newest series, Contained, as a solo show at The Artistry Gallery in February 2019. Jardines’ paintings have been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions including Retrospective Exhibit: Metropolitan Arts Council, MAC Gallery as well as the International Latino Art Exhibition at the Knoxville Museum of Art in 2010, 2015 and 2017. Michelle was awarded Emerging Artist at Artisphere and won first place in Flat Out Under Pressure in 2018. Recently, Michelle participated in Art Basel: Aqua Miami with AC Contemporary Gallery and Art on Paper in NYC. Her work is represented in public and private collections.
Born 1979 in New Jersey, Michelle began oil painting as a teenager. She studied at Kean University in New Jersey earning her B.A. in 2001. During this time, she self-studied painting under the influence of Gerard Richter, Chuck Close and J.W Turner. She continues to attend workshops and lectures regularly with renowned artists such as Alyssa Monks and Linda McCune. She is an active member in her community and oversees The Stone Mural Project, a public art partnership between the City of Greenville Art In Public Places Commission, the Greenville County School System, and the Consolidated Neighborhood Associations of North End. Michelle embraces her passion for art and incorporates it in all aspects of her life and her community.