I am a mixed media intuitive artist living on the northside of Chicago. I am a 53 year old single mother of two that has always only prioritized my children and my art for the last twenty years. I have learned embracing my mistakes make for a better understanding of what the universe wants for my art. I like to consider myself a self taught artist learning through the organic shapes in nature and the energy of the female body. I was lucky enough to experience top art schools in Chicago while working several jobs. I rebelled against rules of technique and styles, to develop my own. I am a fashion junkie for textiles and patterns, creating utopia environments with my collage and mixed media art.
My activism to right the injustices against people of color has caused my art to evolve. I am very verbally
active artistically in my community spreading the messages of love to our neighbors. Each piece of art represents the blood shed of the people of color that continues today. I am channeling the pain and suffering of my ancestors that bare no faces to the ones that harmed them. Not being able to identify the faces takes you to the mindset of a POC not feeling relevant enough to live or have justice.
I am also taking my art to the streets to advocate for social changes on racism, and women's rights with the murals, painted in bright colors with hidden messages to observe and process. The mediums and techniques used are homemade inks, collage, watercolor, and the new medium of encaustic wax painting with acrylic inks.
With our current situation in the world, my art has become a necessity for myself and others. There is a need for expression and discussion from POC. I am not concerned with my art work being liked by society, but I do want my work to spark an emotion to the viewer to ask the question of why when
they see my art.
"I Am Aware I Am Rare" is my motto, embracing being a female black artist without boundaries for expression in my creations. Learning to walk with my eyes closed in nature's beauty is what inspires me to become one with my highest power when creating. What is the first organic shape I see when I open my eyes, that relates to the female body and essence? Does anyone else see the woman in the tree that wants to be seen? What is her message, and how can I relate that in my art?
Michel Delgado
Michel Delgado
Dimension: 18 x 14
Dimension: 62 x 48
Dimension: 48 x 36
Dimension: 18 x 14
My work has been called naive. I fill my canvases with intense and basic colors, crisply painted shapes, and meticulous detail; I make work without conventional representational techniques; my work is free of metaphor, irony and paradox. I paint straightforward narratives, stories of my journey and memories of everyday experiences.
Everything I create and paint comes through my relationship with the world around me, my direct response to my fantasies, my wonder and my spiritual growth. No journey in my life remains as straightforward as painting.
Artist Statement
Growing up in Senegal, on the west coast of Africa, life and art shared the same space. They were indistinguishable. As a young boy in Dakar, I learned that art is the tool I have for a direct and honest conversation with my own heart. Art always has been my rescuer, my liberator – creatively, emotionally, spiritually. I’m a self-taught painter, able to create in any media, always painting work that is straightforward and personal, work coming from a place within me that is constantly loud and growing.