Awards Ceremony, 6:45 PM
Artist Statement:
I prefer to paint outdoors directly on site. I feel that it is the best way to capture the immediacy of the moment. It allows me to immerse myself in the subject. I am not the typical plein air landscape painter in that I enjoy capturing social situations and views of the urban landscape. Whether standing next to a busy café, an isolated beach or inside a jazz club, I know that it is not just the visual information that becomes a part of the painting. The sounds, the smells, the mood and the environment all become integral to the finished image. My plein air paintings are meant to be mirrors of our lives. There is something magical and mystical about standing with your feet firmly planted on the earth, absorbing all the sounds, smells and conversations as well as the visual information and letting it all flow out onto the canvas. I become a part of the scene and the paintings seem to flow out of me.
Biography:
Michele Byrne is recognized for her figurative plein air work and in recent years for her dynamic palette knife paintings.
She lives and works in Reading, Pennsylvania. However, she travels extensively, painting in various locations including, Manhattan, Paris, California, Colorado and Key West, Florida. Michele was a Faculty Demonstrator for the Annual PleinAir Convention in San Francisco,CA in 2019 as well as Monterey, CA in April of 2014.
Byrne has won numerous awards in her plein air and studio work including most recently the President’s Choice Award, American Impressionist Society, 2018. Painting in plein air is not just a passion for Michele it is a dedication. The artist must make decisions about time of day, direction of light and inclusion of figures despite that in front of you everything is changing. The decisions allow the artist to paint dynamically with light and air as a part of the final image.
“Painting plein air allows me to create a more fluid diary of the ever-changing activity of a café or street scene or beach scene.”
Michele's second instructional video was released through Liliedahl Productions in 2018 titled Palette Knife Painting with Michele Byrne. The video won the Liliedahl Best Selling video in 2018. A new video is in the works
Michele has also had her works included in sales at Freeman’s Auction House in Philadelphia and she is a nominated member of the Salmagundi Club in NYC, a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society and Oil Painters of America.
Byrne’s work was featured in an eight-page article written by Steve Doherty in the June/July 2013 Issue of PleinAir Magazine.
Memberships and Affiliations:
Signature Member - American Impressionist Society, Oil Painters of American, Artists’ Fellowship, Inc., Laguna Plein Air Painters, California Art Club, Salmagundi Club, Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association, Rehoboth Art League, Berks Art Alliance