Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,500,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Tastemakers
Top Ideabooks
- 3-D Printing Takes Furnishings to New Heights at ICFF 2013
- Upholstery in 3-D Comes to ICFF 2013
- See the Daring Designs at the 2013 Kip's Bay Decorator Show House
- Peek in on Brandon Morrison's Lamp-Making Process
- 10 Visionary Designs That Could Be Coming Your Way
- Sculptor Susan Wallace Turns Screen Doors Into Art
Artist Sketch: Michelle Armas
From a rainy walk in New York City to a stranger's outfit to Gustav Klimt, painter Michelle Armas finds inspiration everywhere
Michelle Armas has come a long way from selling paintings to her parents. The Atlanta artist's first official sale was to her mom — "I made her buy a painting off my Etsy site so it would look like a real client bought it," Armas says. But now, Armas' cheerful oil paintings and prints can be found in online stores, fine art galleries and at Anthropologie.
Armas' self-described "happy and graphic style" is a natural fit for modern, contemporary and transitional homes. We caught up with the busy artist to chat about her inspiration, her favorite artists and her fear of a monochromatic world.
Armas has started transferring her beautiful pieces into more affordable prints, available for purchase online. Below are some of her recent additions, available as photo posters or canvas posters.
Armas' self-described "happy and graphic style" is a natural fit for modern, contemporary and transitional homes. We caught up with the busy artist to chat about her inspiration, her favorite artists and her fear of a monochromatic world.
Armas has started transferring her beautiful pieces into more affordable prints, available for purchase online. Below are some of her recent additions, available as photo posters or canvas posters.
by Michelle Armas
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Q. Which professionals in your industry do you admire most?
A. Stefan Sagmeister. To my mind he is a person who lives his life looking, learning and empathizing — this is why his ideas are so inspiring. I want to emulate him. He has a youthful energy and perspective, but also a confidence that comes from success and from believing in yourself. His TED talks are killer.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. I feel that half of my energy lately is going toward business growth and evolution. I am creating a line of prints and learning how to create even more products for my customers in every price range. The other half is painting away like a madwoman.
A. Stefan Sagmeister. To my mind he is a person who lives his life looking, learning and empathizing — this is why his ideas are so inspiring. I want to emulate him. He has a youthful energy and perspective, but also a confidence that comes from success and from believing in yourself. His TED talks are killer.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. I feel that half of my energy lately is going toward business growth and evolution. I am creating a line of prints and learning how to create even more products for my customers in every price range. The other half is painting away like a madwoman.
|
by Michelle Armas
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Q. When did you decide you wanted to become an artist? A. I always wanted to be an artist. But I guess I put my money where it counts one year after I graduated college, and I decided to pay for a postgraduate degree in design. Even while I was in school I knew that I couldn't be a graphic designer, but my gut said stay, learn and adapt. So I did. Q. The most important thing on your work desk is ... A. My camera. My wonderful dad bought me a Nikon D80 in 2006, and I used it to take pictures for my blog. Now it is used to take great photographs of every painting and print. A high-quality camera is so essential to creating a clean, aesthetically pleasing brand presence. |
|
by Michelle Armas
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Q. Which iconic artist would you like to work with? A. I love the way Gustav Klimt's mind worked. I know everyone says they love "The Kiss," but I would love to go back in time and watch him mix paint, prepare his canvases, and watch him sketch and paint. Oh, to live in Vienna at that time and see the art — I die! Q. Where in the world do you want to go to next? A. I want to spend a few years really painting, and exploring the outer reaches of creativity. I see myself traveling to different cities and living in them for a few months while I create a ton of new work, and sell it there while my Atlanta studio runs along for a bit without me. |
|
by Michelle Armas
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Q. Where do you go for inspiration? A. Inspiration is a tricky one. Because I am one of those people who is constantly thinking, I am better when I have rest. For example, right now I am going through a stage of endless paperwork, meetings, painful expenses and technical drudgery ... so I am not painting as much. I'm taking a trip to NYC, and when I get back I will be bursting with ideas. It could be a person I see on the street wearing something proportionally magnificent, or taking an introspective walk on a rainy day and keeping my eyes on the sidewalk that gives me a spark of an idea. It could also be a dream. I basically just trust that my mind will provide for me, so long as I keep it healthy, and let it rest and breathe. |
by Michelle Armas
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Q. If you could pick one color in the world to live with, which would you pick?
A. Green — lake green. It makes me happy. Thankfully I don't have to do that because just imagining only one color forever makes me not be able to breathe!
See more of Michelle Armas' work on her online shop and blog.
A. Green — lake green. It makes me happy. Thankfully I don't have to do that because just imagining only one color forever makes me not be able to breathe!
See more of Michelle Armas' work on her online shop and blog.
Ideabook updated on June 3, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
