Present Tense

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Dispensing an explosion of colour onto the canvas, the work of Sydney artist Michelle
Drougas is unequivocally evocative, instinctual and encapsulating. Intoxicated by the
quintessence of organic creation, her works pursue the embodiment of bewitching biological
beauty, whilst manifesting emotional bonds that are boundless in nature. In conjunction with
this intrinsic inspiration, Michelle places her most profound, deep-seated sense of self onto
the canvas, in an attempt to extend to higher realms and explore wider scopes within her
works. Her intrepid depictions are the consequence of perpetual evolution and adaptation, a
process that formed following a short creative course in abstract florals she was gifted one
Mother’s Day.

Electing a high intermix of media and layering, Michelle employs a process highly intuitive in
nature, in which each phase leads to the illumination of the next. Commencing with a
rudimentary wash of colour, adjoined to a contrasting coverage of colouring, these initial
layers provide the work’s foundational complexion. An intermingling of expressive brush
strokes and a catapultian of paint portray the innate sensations of liberation and gratification
that derive from nature’s most uncluttered state. Once these portions are present, they’re
laboured on the canvas into a rendering that characteristically reflects the equilibrium
between the outward world and the innermost landscape. Greatly committed to repeated
practise, as well as persistent trial and error, much of Michelle’s artistic methodology steams
from an acceptance that a great measure of her creative possibilities are yet to be wholly and
entirely realised.