Conversations with Michelle Hunt

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Hunt

Hi Michelle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been drawn to fantasy, fairy tales and folklore, drawing doodles in notebooks from gradeschool on. I had a great high school art teacher who really pushed me to pursue art, and helped me get into Kendall College of Art and Design. I attended KCAD and received a BFA in illustration, focusing on watercolor. My senior thesis was illustrating a collection of Irish and Scottish folk tales. After college I bounced around a lot, living in Kalamazoo, then Seattle for a while, then I moved up to British Columbia, Canada with my partner. While living there I started working at an independent art store, where I fell in love with art supplies and materials. We moved back to Kalamazoo after about 7 years in Canada, and the first thing I did here was look for an art supply store and art groups to get involved with. Rebecca, the owner of Kalamazoo Dry Goods, sold the most beautiful artist materials sourced from all over the world, and I immediately fell in love with her shop. She connected me with a local artist group, the Starlite Collective, and I immediately joined and started participating in their shows. Rebecca also connected me with folks at Holbein Artist Materials, who took me on as a brand ambassador. Now my time is spent hosting demos, working and leading classes at Kalamazoo Dry Goods, making art in my studio at Park Trades Center, and vending at local shows!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think anyone goes into art thinking it’ll be a smooth road, but I guess it’s all the twists and turns that make the journey interesting! I’ve had my share of unsuccessful shows and markets, difficult commissions from difficult clients, days where I just thought to myself “what on earth am I doing with my life?” Any time I try something new there’s a learning curve, so I’ll sometimes get about halfway through a new piece, look at it, and just say “nope, this isn’t happening,” and start over. I learn something from those failed pieces, even if it’s just how NOT to do something. I struggle with perfectionism, which makes me nervous to try new things, especially if I’m making something on a deadline or for a specific purpose. It can even just grind the whole creative process to a halt completely, and I can’t make anything new for some time. Teaching classes and helping others on their journey has actually been so helpful in getting me out of my shell. As I am encouraging these new budding artists, I’m encouraging myself a little bit, too, and giving myself permission to just play and experiment without worrying about end goals.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I primarily paint in watercolors and pen and ink, although I dabble in just about anything. I really love colored pencil and gouache as well, but I almost always come back to watercolor. I have a background in product knowledge as well as art history, both of which I think really inform what I do. My product knowledge helps me choose really beautiful and inspiring paints, paper, and brushes as my tools, and because I love the materials I’m working with, I’m so happy to sit and create with them. It becomes joy every time I pick up my brush and load it with paint. My art history background informs a lot of the subjects, forms, and styles I create in. Art Nouveau and Pre-Raphaelite art are two of my favorite art movements- art nouveau for its use of bold, fluid line art paired with soft delicate color, and Pre-Raphaelite for its often tragic but beautifully tender portrayal of figures from Arthurian legends, mythology, and medieval chivalry. In my own art, I’m most often using line art paired with fully rendered watercolors, often portraying knights, strong female characters, mythical figures, and even my own fantasy characters from dungeons and dragons games I’ve played. Right now I’m working on a complete anthology of our D&D game, creating character designs, painting important story scenes, and compiling it together into a body of work that I can show or publish someday.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Joining the Starlite Collective was honestly one of the best things I did. I started doing shows with them, got my community studio space through them, and I’ve been able to find so many professional connections as well as personal friendships by being part of this group. I only found out about them through talking to the owner of Kalamazoo Dry Goods. Because Rebecca’s shop is kind of at the center of a lot of different art groups, she knows a lot of people in the art community. Local art stores do so much more than sell art supplies, they really can be a community hub and help you find people you need to know. Attending classes at local art stores and colleges, attending art shows, getting involved with the local arts councils, are all really great ways to find people and get involved. I honestly wouldn’t be where I am now had I not met and spoken with Rebecca at Kalamazoo Dry Goods, or Val and Erica at the Starlite Collective. These three people have helped project my art career so much farther than I thought possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://patreon.com/michellehuntart
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michelle_hunt_art
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/michellehuntart.bsky.social