Michelle Cummings, a RISD Store staff member for 20 years, has been a painter even longer. Starting with ceramics work as a young girl, she took up oil painting as a teen. Mainly a self-taught painter, she had some difficulty seeing herself as an artist. She yearned for some painting instruction, and was delighted when RISD|CE began the Drawing + Painting Studies certificate program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI waited for years, hoping they would have a certificate program for painting,\u201d says Michelle. \u201cWhen CE came out with that program, I was thrilled.\u201d Michelle, who paints out of a studio in her basement, saw results almost immediately: \u201cI was painting almost every single day. You develop so quickly. I noticed I developed a very keen eye through the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since childhood, Michelle has had a love of sheep and lambs, yet she had\u00a0never even drawn one. She credits the program\u2019s Drawing I course with\u00a0teaching her to draw. There came a moment in her Final Projects Studio\u00a0class when students were asked to challenge themselves. \u201cI was petrified,\u201d\u00a0she recalls, \u201cbut I drew these sheep and it was eye-opening to see I could\u00a0do it — I could show the weight of their wool!\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michelle remembers learning to more fully see in the Painting I course. In\u00a0the Final Projects Studio, she learned to paint expressively: \u201cMy final studio\u00a0instructor Michael Peery gave me a whole new perspective on how to see\u00a0and feel a painting\u2014how to really express it.\u201d It was then that it all came\u00a0together for Michelle: \u201cSome artists don\u2019t really feel we are artists, but when\u00a0I got to that point, I had so much confidence. I really believed I was an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After completing the certificate program in 2011, Michelle was motivated\u00a0to push herself even further. She decided to take the Final Projects Studio a\u00a0second time. \u201cI\u2019ve also taken some weekend workshops since then. If I take\u00a0a class, I know that\u2019s going to push me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With aspirations to be a gallery artist, Michelle continues making traditional\u00a0style paintings of the subjects she loves. Not wanting to limit herself, she has\u00a0chosen to \u201czone in\u201d on each of her favorite subjects individually for a period\u00a0of time: \u201cI love landscape, the countryside. I love animals. Right now I\u2019m\u00a0working on still lifes\u2026I pick something meaningful to me, like antiques. If the\u00a0antiques are from my family, even better. That connection makes it better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All images copyright Michelle Cummings<\/p>\n\n\n\n
News about Michelle’s Art:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Michelle Cummings, a RISD Store staff member for 20 years, has been a painter even longer. Starting with ceramics work as a young girl, she took up oil painting as a teen. Mainly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":22,"menu_order":95,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1478","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","empty-entry-meta"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"