https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/events-michelleoconnorart daily 0.75 2026-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/50a018a2-48cb-4336-8f90-9e09eab94209/IMG_8894.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/f6a53325-06f6-42aa-b2c3-a00cc1045cce/IMG_8891.jpeg https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/events-michelleoconnorart/event-four-xdstp monthly 0.5 2024-12-16 https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/events-michelleoconnorart/event-one-sxa67 monthly 0.5 2026-01-30 https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/events-michelleoconnorart/event-five-5nmdr monthly 0.5 2024-12-16 https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/events-michelleoconnorart/event-three-5ggt6 monthly 0.5 2024-12-16 https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/events-michelleoconnorart/event-two-a85sr monthly 0.5 2024-12-16 https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/home daily 1.0 2026-02-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/97c190fe-e6a1-4527-b12e-e7cc2c3d160c/Untamed+Wildflowers_18x24_Acrylic_MichelleOConnor_2025_400.jpg Michelle O'Connor Arts https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/47524804-6a8b-4b3a-a8ed-95f8cd65b395/Altars+of+Memory_24x24_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_600.jpg Michelle O'Connor Arts https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/18788a77-eb83-4219-aa7d-0d9c748d41c8/In+the+Space+Between_24x24_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_600.jpg Michelle O'Connor Arts https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/6ce38ddb-846c-44b7-a24a-9e9812451e3c/Above+the+Roots_12x12_Acrylic+Mixed+Media+on+Wood+panel_Michelle+OConnor_2025_300.jpg Michelle O'Connor Arts https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/af09f554-c150-49c3-9a60-8503b7e18d15/Michelle+Headshot+2.jpg https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/studio daily 0.75 2026-06-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/9effc7a5-1d24-4812-9129-deeeb228db4c/IMG_7637.jpg Studio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/589bbabb-940a-40c2-bb79-b17d62f2c21b/In+Studio+Intro+Page+Shot.jpg Studio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/06348b89-ded7-456c-a12d-52b898f8a705/IMG_7674%281%29.jpeg Studio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/52456410-5a93-4582-a247-ee0bb0e07c56/IMG_7677%281%29.jpeg Studio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/6f0ca77a-d9a1-4836-9afd-36e403ea57a1/In+Studio+Intro+Page+Shot.jpg https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/contact-michelleoconnorart daily 0.75 2026-02-02 https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/gallery-michelleoconnorart daily 0.75 2026-06-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/a6e2f7f7-adf1-4332-8bc4-56888fcb06d6/Above+the+Roots_12x12_Acrylic+Mixed+Media+on+Wood+panel_Michelle+OConnor_2025_300.jpg Gallery Above the Roots (12 x 12, acrylic + mixed media on wood panel) Layers of acrylic paint, collaged acrylic skins, and graphite marks intertwine with quiet geometry beneath the surface — exploring the relationship between the physical world and the unseen forces that shape it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/8b037662-3cf1-4a2c-895e-811d3df3c651/Air+of+Renewal_12+x+12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2024_350.jpg Gallery Air of Renewal Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches Air of Renewal explores the first stirrings of change—the subtle shift that occurs when fresh energy begins moving through a space once occupied by certainty, habit, or stillness. Created as part of the Discovery series, the painting reflects the optimism and possibility that accompany new beginnings, while acknowledging that transformation often starts long before its outcome can be seen. Layers of translucent color, gestural marks, and interconnected forms create a sense of movement and circulation throughout the composition. Soft blues, muted greens, and luminous neutrals evoke openness and breath, while overlapping shapes and drawn lines suggest ideas, experiences, and relationships in the process of reorganizing themselves. The surface carries evidence of both structure and spontaneity, mirroring the way growth unfolds through a balance of intention and discovery. Aligned with the eastern direction of the Medicine Wheel, Air of Renewal embodies the energy of spring—awakening, emergence, and possibility. It is a meditation on beginnings, not as singular events, but as ongoing invitations to see differently, move differently, and engage more fully with the world around us. At its heart, the work honors the moment when something new enters our awareness: a fresh perspective, a new path, or a quiet inner knowing that change has already begun. Like a breath of clean air after a long season, Air of Renewal reminds us that renewal often arrives gently, carrying with it the promise of what is yet to unfold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/99472072-6b88-4c98-a16c-6485aa94ee53/Altars+of+Memory_24x24_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_600.jpg Gallery Altars of Memory 24" x 24" This piece evokes reverence for the inner landscape, honors the symbolic containers and forms in the piece, and invites the viewer to sense the sacredness woven through both the personal and collective past that lives in memory https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/563aace2-a2d6-4519-ab6f-eeee1253eb67/Below+the+Surface_12x12_Acrylic+Mixed+Media+on+Wood+panel_2025_300.jpg Gallery Beneath the Surface 12" x 12" Acrylic, Collage, Mixed Media on wood panel “Beneath the Surface” reveals the layered interplay of texture, color, and emotion. Built from acrylic, collage, and graphite, this mixed media work invites the viewer into a meditative depth—where light shifts across strata of memory and meaning. Ideal for collectors drawn to contemplative, nature-infused abstraction. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/52cfbd08-1b74-4275-b139-c427cc6aa38b/Echo+of+First+Light_8x8_Abstract_1+of+4_Michelle+OConnor_2025_150.jpg Gallery Truth Revealed Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on wood panel 8 x 8 inches In Truth Revealed, fragments emerge from beneath layers of marks, symbols, and accumulated histories. Sweeping bands of blue suggest movement and passage, while hand-drawn lines, asemic text, and coded forms hint at messages partially obscured and partially understood. Embedded acrylic skins act as artifacts—evidence of earlier decisions preserved within the painting rather than painted over. The work explores the idea that truth is rarely delivered all at once. Instead, it reveals itself through accumulation, contradiction, and attention. Surface and depth coexist as visual metaphors for the stories we tell ourselves and the realities waiting beneath them. What initially appears fragmented begins to form unexpected relationships, inviting the viewer to participate in the act of discovery. Rather than presenting a fixed narrative, Truth Revealed offers a space for reflection—a reminder that understanding often arrives not as certainty, but as a gradual uncovering of what has been present all along. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/9a47bfd1-62ce-4d4f-9bfa-e8732528887a/Everyday+Magic_24+x+24+Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_600_2025.jpeg Gallery I Said Yes to Myself 24" x 24" Mixed Media on Wood Panel A visual affirmation of self-trust and becoming. Layers of color, texture, and movement reflect the moment we choose alignment over approval — when we say yes to our own voice, our own rhythm, our own truth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/3c76f522-46a0-400e-bb5d-0782576bbdf3/Evidence+of+Presence_12x12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_350.jpg Gallery Evidence of Presence Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches Evidence of Presence explores the traces we leave behind—seen and unseen—as we move through the world. Layers of paint, drawn marks, fragments of text, and translucent veils accumulate like memories, creating a visual record of moments that have shaped us, even when their origins can no longer be fully recalled. Warm terracotta, soft gray, and muted green forms suggest structures both physical and emotional: places of shelter, transition, and becoming. Drips and gestural lines introduce a sense of movement and impermanence, while recurring marks and symbols act as remnants of a language just beyond comprehension. Together, these elements create a surface that feels simultaneously excavated and constructed. Rather than documenting a specific event, Evidence of Presence considers how meaning accumulates through experience. It asks viewers to reflect on what remains after a moment has passed—the impressions, connections, and subtle transformations that become proof that we were here, that something mattered, and that every encounter leaves its mark. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/170912d5-9be5-41ad-bbe1-855be30a907c/Glyph+of+the+Unspoken_8x8_Abstract_2+of+4_Michelle+OConnor_2025_150.jpg Gallery Glyph of the Unspoken Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on wood panel 8 x 8 inches Currently on view in the CAVA Small Works Show opening June 12, 2026. In Glyph of the Unspoken, marks, symbols, and fragments of language emerge and dissolve across the surface, suggesting a form of communication that exists beyond words. Layered acrylic skins, gestural line work, and coded visual elements create a field of inquiry where meaning is felt before it is understood. The painting invites viewers to engage with the space between expression and interpretation—the territory where intuition, memory, and emotion reside. The recurring symbols and asemic markings function as a personal yet universal language, evoking the ways we carry experiences that resist easy explanation. Sweeping blue forms create movement and connection, while textured passages of acrylic skin act as artifacts embedded within the work, preserving traces of earlier decisions and hidden histories. Rather than offering a single narrative, Glyph of the Unspoken explores the possibility that some truths are communicated through presence rather than language. It is a meditation on what remains unsaid, yet deeply known—a visual record of the conversations taking place beneath the surface of conscious thought. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/15b41ad5-1dec-4314-afda-0a417cfecd83/Held+in+the+Quiet_12x12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_350.JPG Gallery Held in the Quiet Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches Held in the Quiet explores the transformative space that exists beneath the noise of daily life—the place where reflection, memory, and inner knowing begin to surface. Layered passages of paint, collage, drawn forms, and handwritten fragments gather into a visual conversation that feels both intimate and expansive, revealing traces of what has been felt, remembered, and carried forward. Soft neutrals, muted greens, and warm ochres create a sense of calm containment, while scattered marks, numbers, and symbols suggest the presence of stories that cannot be fully articulated. The painting balances structure and uncertainty, allowing moments of clarity to emerge from a field of ambiguity. Textured passages and embedded fragments function as remnants of experience, preserved within the surface like evidence of a life examined with care. Rather than seeking resolution, Held in the Quiet honors the value of stillness itself. It reflects the belief that insight often arrives not through force or urgency, but through patience, attention, and the willingness to remain present with what is unfolding. The work invites viewers into a contemplative space where meaning is allowed to emerge in its own time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/ec5816e7-5bab-407d-890b-20e9f83d56e8/IMG_6653.jpg Gallery The Neverending Garden Acrylic, collage, texture medium, and mixed media on canvas 24 x 48 inches Commissioned by and held in a private collection The Neverending Garden celebrates the beauty of abundance, resilience, and continual becoming. Inspired by the rhythms of the natural world, the painting imagines a garden unconstrained by season or boundary—a place where blooms coexist across time, where every stage of growth is present at once, and where endings become invitations for new beginnings. Created for a collector seeking a garden that could bloom year-round through long Chicago winters, the work became an exploration of permanence within an impermanent world. Rather than depicting a specific place, the painting evokes the feeling of stepping into a landscape where color, life, and possibility remain accessible regardless of season. It is both a celebration of nature and a response to the human longing to remain connected to beauty during dormant times. Built through layers of color, texture, and intuitive mark-making, the composition weaves together a vibrant tapestry of flowers, foliage, seeds, pollinators, and possibility. Native blooms mingle freely with imagined varieties, creating a landscape that exists somewhere between memory and dream. Hidden details emerge through sustained looking, rewarding curiosity and inviting viewers to wander through the painting as they might explore an overgrown garden path. Beneath the exuberance of the surface lies a quieter meditation on continuity. Flowers bloom, fade, and return. Seeds scatter. Pollinators travel from blossom to blossom. Life renews itself through countless small exchanges. The work reflects an understanding that growth is rarely linear and that beauty often resides in cycles rather than permanence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/75c71f15-a556-415e-b5d7-361dee273807/In+the+Space+Between_24x24_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_600.jpg Gallery In the Space Between Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, texture medium, and mixed media on canvas 24 x 24 inches Permanent Collection — Robert T. Wright Community Gallery, College of Lake County In the Space Between explores the layered nature of perception, memory, and meaning. Built through an intuitive process of covering, revealing, and responding, the painting suggests the presence of a hidden composition beneath the surface—one that can only be glimpsed through a series of openings, fragments, and traces. Throughout the work, small windows of color emerge from a luminous field of white, offering fleeting views into an underlying world of marks, shapes, and relationships. These revealed passages function like moments of recognition: partial, incomplete, and deeply compelling. Rather than exposing the entire story, the painting invites viewers to imagine what lies beyond the visible edge of each fragment. Texture plays a central role in the composition. Raised geometric patterns create a subtle architectural framework that both conceals and supports what lies beneath. The surface becomes a record of accumulation and excavation, revealing evidence of earlier decisions while maintaining a sense of mystery. Delicate lines connect disparate elements across the canvas, suggesting hidden structures and relationships that continue beyond what can be seen. At its core, In the Space Between is a meditation on what remains just beyond reach. It reflects the belief that understanding rarely arrives all at once; instead, it emerges through fragments, glimpses, and sustained attention. The painting invites viewers to linger in the threshold between revelation and concealment, where curiosity becomes a way of seeing and mystery remains an essential part of the experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/539ce88e-a05a-4a4e-9660-64012f795bb9/Lofty_12+x+12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2024_350.jpg Gallery Lofty Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches Lofty explores the relationship between structure and possibility. Built through layers of translucent color, geometric forms, and interconnected lines, the painting suggests a landscape of ideas in motion—a place where plans, memories, and aspirations overlap and evolve. Soft greens, pale blues, warm neutrals, and subtle passages of yellow create an atmosphere of openness and lightness. The composition feels architectural yet organic, with layered shapes resembling windows, pathways, or fragments of a larger framework. Delicate line work weaves throughout the surface, connecting disparate elements and hinting at systems that exist just beyond immediate understanding. Rather than presenting a fixed narrative, Lofty invites viewers to consider the space between intention and realization. The translucent layers allow earlier decisions to remain visible, creating a sense of depth and history while suggesting that growth is rarely linear. What appears solid shifts upon closer inspection, revealing a composition built through accumulation, revision, and discovery. At its heart, Lofty is a meditation on perspective. It reflects the human tendency to imagine, build, and reach beyond present circumstances while remaining connected to the experiences that shaped us. The work honors the delicate balance between grounded structure and expansive possibility, inviting viewers to inhabit the space where vision begins to take form. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/a631d565-9dd7-4baa-b733-2ba1f80eb2f3/Outside+City+Limits_24x24_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_600.jpg Gallery Outside City Limits Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 24 x 24 inches Outside City Limits explores the space between modern life and something older, quieter, and more enduring. The painting reflects the tension of living amid the constant noise of information, opinion, and distraction while still longing for presence, connection, and simplicity. Part city, part landscape, part memory, it suggests a place beyond the boundaries of urgency—a reminder that beneath the static of contemporary life, another rhythm still exists. The work asks what we might discover if we listened for it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/260a4da3-175c-4636-8f3a-a7f114620ada/Purification_12x12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2024_350.jpg Gallery Purification Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches Purification explores the process of release—the gradual clearing away of what no longer serves in order to make space for renewal. Layers of paint, collage, gestural marks, and translucent veils interact across the surface, suggesting the tension between holding on and letting go. The composition feels both excavated and emerging, as though something essential is being uncovered through the act of transformation itself. Cool turquoise and white passages evoke water, air, and movement, while fragments of text, numbers, and drawn forms appear and dissolve within the layered surface. Areas of opacity and transparency create moments of concealment and revelation, reflecting the way growth often occurs beneath conscious awareness before becoming visible. The painting embraces imperfection, honoring the marks, revisions, and traces left behind as part of the journey. Created as part of the Discovery series and aligned with the southern direction of the Medicine Wheel, Purification reflects the energy of summer, vitality, and personal transformation. It invites viewers to consider what must be released in order for new possibilities to emerge, reminding us that purification is not about becoming something different—it is about returning to what has always been true beneath the layers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/2d1bd607-b789-4292-88de-94c5bd159aac/Sacred+Destrution_12x12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_350.jpg Gallery Sacred Destruction Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, acrylic skins, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches Sacred Destruction honors the necessary role of dismantling in the creative and personal journey. Rather than depicting destruction as loss, the work embraces it as a transformative force—one that clears space for renewal, growth, and the emergence of something previously unseen. Layers of paint, collage, and textured acrylic skins accumulate and fracture across the surface, creating a visual record of construction and deconstruction occurring simultaneously. Warm earth tones, soft neutrals, and energetic passages of color evoke both stability and disruption. Torn edges, embedded fragments, and obscured markings suggest histories being altered rather than erased, while gestural lines weave through the composition like pathways connecting what has been released to what is still becoming. The heavily textured surface serves as evidence of the many decisions, revisions, and acts of surrender that shaped the work. Created as part of the Discovery series and aligned with the western direction of the Medicine Wheel, Sacred Destruction reflects the energy of autumn—the season of letting go, transformation, and trust in cycles larger than ourselves. It invites viewers to consider what must be broken apart in order for something more authentic to emerge, reminding us that endings are often the threshold of becoming. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/a020aa9f-4d4d-4272-a28d-d557663a4603/The+Moment+of+Seeing_8x8_Abstract_3+of+4_Michelle+OConnor_2025_150.jpg Gallery The Moment of Seeing Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on wood panel 8 x 8 inches Sold — Private Collection The Moment of Seeing captures the fleeting instant when perception shifts and something previously hidden comes into focus. Through layered marks, gestural line work, embedded acrylic skins, and fragments of text and symbol, the painting explores the relationship between observation and understanding—the space where recognition emerges before it can be fully explained. Sweeping blue forms move across the surface like pathways or currents of thought, creating a sense of motion and connection. The textured acrylic skins act as preserved moments within the composition, carrying the history of earlier layers forward rather than concealing them. Hand-drawn lines and coded marks suggest systems of meaning that are both personal and universal, inviting viewers to navigate their own associations and discoveries. Rather than presenting a fixed conclusion, The Moment of Seeing reflects the experience of awakening to a new perspective. It honors the subtle but transformative shift that occurs when we move beyond assumption and encounter something more deeply true. The work serves as a reminder that insight often arrives quietly—a brief opening through which the ordinary becomes extraordinary. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/34ab4ca6-c285-4c8d-88dd-03249b747158/The+Point+of+Origin_12x12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2024_350.jpg Gallery The Point of Origin Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches The Point of Origin explores the place where all journeys begin—the still center from which growth, transformation, and discovery emerge. Layered forms, intersecting lines, fragments of text, and intuitive marks converge across the surface, creating a visual map that feels both ancient and immediate. Rather than depicting a destination, the painting focuses on the moment of beginning: the spark of awareness that precedes movement and change. Soft greens, muted neutrals, vibrant coral, and passages of deep color create a dynamic balance between structure and spontaneity. Geometric forms suggest containers, pathways, and points of connection, while hand-drawn marks and layered textures reveal the history of the painting's evolution. Each element contributes to a sense of unfolding, as though the composition is simultaneously remembering and becoming. Created as the central piece of the Discovery series and aligned with the center of the Medicine Wheel, The Point of Origin represents integration, balance, and wholeness. It reflects the understanding that every ending returns us to a new beginning and that the center is not a fixed place, but a living point of connection between what has been, what is, and what is yet to emerge. The work invites viewers to pause, reflect, and reconnect with their own source of knowing—the place from which all meaningful journeys begin. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/847d334c-13fa-4fc1-864b-cbfb64b3f923/Truth+Revealed_8x8_Abstract_4+of+4_Michelle+OConnor_2025_150.jpg Gallery Truth Revealed Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on wood panel 8 x 8 inches Truth Revealed explores the moment when understanding rises from beneath the surface. Layers of marks, symbols, fragments of language, and embedded acrylic skins interact like pieces of a larger story gradually coming into focus. Sweeping blue forms create a sense of movement and connection, while textured passages preserve traces of earlier decisions, allowing the painting's history to remain visible rather than concealed. The work reflects an ongoing fascination with the relationship between what is known and what is hidden. Asemic writing, coded symbols, and intuitive line work suggest forms of communication that exist beyond conventional language, inviting viewers to trust observation, intuition, and personal interpretation. What first appears fragmented begins to reveal unexpected connections through sustained attention. Rather than presenting a single truth, Truth Revealed considers truth as a process of discovery—an unfolding shaped by curiosity, experience, and perspective. The painting asks viewers to look beyond first impressions and engage with the layers beneath, where meaning emerges not through certainty, but through the willingness to see more deeply. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/6623af9e-712e-4325-86d4-8a768f41582b/Where+the+Ancestors+Speak_12x12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2025_300.jpg Gallery Where the Ancestors Speak Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, acrylic skins, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches Where the Ancestors Speak explores the unseen dialogue between past and present—the ways memory, lineage, and inherited wisdom continue to shape our lives long after their origins have faded from view. Layered forms, symbolic marks, fragments of pattern, and passages of luminous color create a landscape that feels both earthly and celestial, inviting contemplation of what is carried forward across generations. A central dark form emerges from the composition like a portal, figure, or presence, surrounded by constellations of marks and layered textures. Geometric motifs and sacred patterns suggest systems of knowledge passed through time, while areas of excavation and accumulation reveal a surface rich with history and transformation. The painting balances mystery and familiarity, offering clues without insisting on a single interpretation. Created through an intuitive process of layering, uncovering, and responding, Where the Ancestors Speak reflects the belief that guidance often arrives through subtle impressions, symbols, and moments of deep listening. The work invites viewers to consider their own connections to ancestry, memory, and belonging, while honoring the possibility that wisdom is never entirely lost—it simply waits for us to become quiet enough to hear it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/8ed036c4-1530-40c9-bea3-0eaa78bec4f0/Winter%27s+Wisdom_12+x+12_Abstract_Michelle+OConnor_2024_350.jpg Gallery Winter's Wisdom Acrylic, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 12 x 12 inches Winter's Wisdom reflects the quiet intelligence found in stillness, rest, and reflection. Created as part of the Discovery series, the work explores the often-overlooked value of pause—the season of gathering insight beneath the surface before new growth begins. Through layers of paint, collage, handwritten fragments, and intuitive mark-making, the composition reveals a landscape of contemplation where movement slows and deeper truths emerge. Cool blues, soft whites, muted greens, and passages of warm color create a dynamic balance between dormancy and vitality. Textured surfaces, partially obscured writing, and architectural forms suggest memories, experiences, and lessons accumulated over time. Rather than demanding immediate understanding, the painting invites a slower way of seeing, encouraging viewers to linger with ambiguity and discover meaning through observation and presence. Aligned with the northern direction of the Medicine Wheel, Winter's Wisdom embodies the energy of winter—a time associated with introspection, ancestral knowledge, and inner guidance. It serves as a reminder that periods of apparent stillness are often rich with unseen activity, and that wisdom is not always found in forward motion, but in the willingness to listen deeply to what is already present. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/a3c10be6-c584-4088-b9c0-e97d558a9c02/Outside+City+Limits+24+x+24+acrylic+mixed+media_Michelle+OConnor_2024.jpg Gallery Outside City Limits 24" x 24" Acrylic and Mixed Media on Wood This piece explores the boundary between the self and society - the vibrant, untamed landscape of individuality pressing up against the rigid architecture of expectation. Like a soul wandering beyond the structured skyline of norms, it speaks to the freedom found when we follow our own inner terrain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/6d02ffaa-64b2-422f-841a-47b14b837e0b/IMG_8890+2.jpeg Gallery The Beginning of Yes Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 10 x 10 inches The Beginning of Yes celebrates the moment of openness that precedes transformation—the instant when possibility is welcomed and a new path begins to emerge. Built through layers of paint, collage, intuitive mark-making, and embedded acrylic skins, the work captures the energy of curiosity, trust, and forward movement. Rather than focusing on certainty, it honors the courage required to take the first step toward something not yet fully known. Vibrant passages of blue, yellow, magenta, and red animate the composition, creating a sense of momentum and discovery. Fragments of language, symbols, and gestural marks weave throughout the surface, suggesting the accumulation of experiences, influences, and inner conversations that shape our decisions. A looping pink line moves freely across the painting, acting as both a visual invitation and a symbol of possibility unfolding in real time. At its heart, The Beginning of Yes is about choosing engagement over hesitation and curiosity over fear. It reflects the understanding that meaningful change often begins with a simple willingness to remain open—to ideas, opportunities, relationships, and ways of seeing that have not yet revealed their full potential. The work invites viewers to consider their own threshold moments and the unexpected journeys that can begin with a single yes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/686b4e8e-435a-4fc8-ad6a-b73efff4049b/IMG_8891.jpeg Gallery Velocity Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 10 x 10 inches If The Beginning of Yes marks the moment of choosing, Velocity captures what follows—the point at which movement becomes inevitable. Created during a period of profound personal and creative transformation, this work reflects the experience of crossing an invisible threshold. The decision has already been made. The door has already opened. What remains is the energy generated by that choice as it gathers momentum and begins carrying us toward something new. Layers of acrylic skins, collage, gestural marks, and vibrant color converge in a composition that feels simultaneously grounded and in motion. Embedded fragments of language and pattern act as traces of what came before, while bold passages of blue, magenta, yellow, and deep indigo suggest forces colliding, expanding, and reorganizing themselves. Sweeping pink gestures move freely across the surface like currents of possibility, creating a sense of forward motion that cannot be reversed. At its core, Velocity is about trust. It acknowledges that there are moments in life when growth develops its own momentum—when the future begins arriving faster than our ability to explain it. The painting honors that exhilarating and uncertain space between becoming and arrival, where movement itself becomes an act of faith. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/a06c3ee2-d0ca-48d9-8d57-bf6a42ce9bca/IMG_8892.jpeg Gallery Acceleration Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 10 x 10 inches If Velocity captures the moment when movement becomes inevitable, Acceleration explores what happens next—the point at which momentum begins to multiply. Created as part of a deeply personal period of transformation, this painting reflects the experience of life reorganizing itself around a decision already made. The energy is no longer gathering; it is expanding. Possibilities once imagined begin taking form, connections appear unexpectedly, and what once felt uncertain starts pulling the future toward itself. Layers of acrylic skins, collage, and intuitive mark-making create a composition that feels simultaneously structured and spontaneous. Vibrant passages of blue, magenta, yellow, and deep indigo collide against open fields of light, creating a sense of emergence and lift. The looping pink gestures move through the composition like visible currents of energy—echoing the way growth often unfolds in spirals rather than straight lines. At its core, Acceleration is about trusting the momentum that follows commitment. It reflects the realization that transformation is not always a slow and deliberate process. Sometimes, after a long period of waiting, healing, or becoming, life suddenly begins moving faster than expected. Acceleration honors that exhilarating threshold where intention becomes action, possibility becomes reality, and the future arrives with increasing speed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/c3dd6c33-791f-4010-87a8-fd8ed8551c51/IMG_8894.jpeg Gallery Alive Again Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, graphite, charcoal, and mixed media on canvas 10 x 10 inches Alive Again reflects the experience of returning to oneself after a period of profound change. Not a return to who we once were, but an emergence into something newly awakened—more present, more open, and more fully engaged with life. Built through layers of acrylic skins, collage, intuitive mark-making, and luminous color, the painting carries a sense of renewal and expansion. Vibrant passages of blue, yellow, coral, and magenta push against soft fields of light, creating a dynamic interplay between energy and openness. Fragments of language, symbols, and geometric forms remain embedded within the composition, honoring the experiences that shaped the journey while making space for what is still unfolding. Created during a season of personal transformation, Alive Again acknowledges that renewal is rarely dramatic. More often, it arrives quietly—through moments of curiosity, creativity, connection, and the gradual return of joy. The painting embraces that reawakening, celebrating the realization that even after loss, uncertainty, or change, life continues to offer opportunities for wonder and growth. At its heart, Alive Again is a testament to resilience. It honors the moment when survival gives way to participation, when healing begins to feel like possibility, and when the world, once again, becomes a place of color, movement, and discovery. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/8e5185b5-67b1-4201-97be-859710534709/Offering+8+x+8_MichelleOConnorArt_2026.jpg Gallery Offering Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, and mixed media on paper 8 x 8 inches (framed) Offering reflects the quiet exchange that exists between giving and receiving. Created through an intuitive process of layering, covering, revealing, and responding, the work explores the idea that every act of creation is itself an offering—of attention, presence, curiosity, and trust. Soft blues, fresh greens, and passages of pink move gently across the composition, creating a sense of openness and ease. Striped elements suggest pathways or connections, while layered acrylic skins preserve traces of earlier gestures beneath the surface. The painting feels less like a declaration and more like an invitation—a space where meaning emerges through relationship rather than certainty. At its heart, Offering is about participation. It acknowledges that what we bring to the world—whether a work of art, a gesture of kindness, a conversation, or simply our presence—is never fully ours once it is shared. The work honors that act of release and the possibility that something unexpected may be received in return. Rather than demanding attention, Offering invites a slower encounter. It asks what becomes possible when we approach life not from a place of striving, but from a willingness to contribute, connect, and trust the exchange. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/91aeda5e-a0ac-4ce0-bc70-9ed0ff3e5d45/Ride+the+Wave+8+x+8_MichelleOConnorArt_2026.jpg Gallery Ride the Wave Acrylic, acrylic skins, collage, and mixed media on paper 8 x 8 inches (framed) Ride the Wave is a reflection on trust—the practice of moving with life's currents rather than resisting them. Created through an intuitive process of layering, responding, and allowing the composition to reveal itself over time, the work embraces the idea that not every journey requires a map. Sometimes the most meaningful movement comes from learning to flow with what is already unfolding. Soft blues, fresh greens, and touches of pink create a sense of buoyancy and ease, while curved lines and rhythmic forms suggest movement, connection, and continuity. Fragments of pattern and collage drift through the composition like memories, signals, or markers along the way, reminding us that every experience contributes to the larger story. At its heart, Ride the Wave is about surrendering the need to control every outcome. It honors the wisdom that emerges when we meet uncertainty with curiosity and allow ourselves to be carried by forces larger than our plans. The work invites viewers to consider where life may be asking them to loosen their grip, trust the process, and discover the unexpected possibilities waiting beyond resistance. Rather than striving against the current, Ride the Wave celebrates the freedom that can be found in participation—the joy of being fully present to the movement of becoming. https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/exhibitionsandcv daily 0.75 2026-06-05 https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/projects-symbolism daily 0.75 2026-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/1129aac1-cfdb-4b18-826f-490445b8200a/Discovery+Series+1+of+5.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/8dd6e5ae-ae41-4bc9-9e3f-92630983825e/Discovery+Series+2+of+5.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/d50c4701-62eb-422a-8931-661d7476f7a2/Discovery+Series+3+of+5.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/11360b98-cd35-4a01-ac75-d9fa16242862/Discovery+Series+4+of+5.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/d04ee5fe-1fae-4e7a-86d6-271b79270854/Discovery+Series+5+of+5.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/7cde2cae-26f1-48c4-859c-f83312a7f308/Art+at+Blue+Moon+2.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/661d82cb-4538-4555-b0cd-0f097827c171/Art+at+Blue+Moon+3.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/e86b22b0-bfef-4b92-8dcc-3948fe2a44b9/Art+at+Blue+Moon.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/85bd7ab6-bdeb-4376-8cfb-c6e2b35e6f4e/Artist+Talk+at+Blue+Moon+May+2025.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/d0223039-bd15-4bf8-ad30-14cc8d21f696/Beyond+the+Obvious+Solo+Exhibit_BlueMoonGallery_May+2025.jpg Projects & Symbolism https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/store daily 0.75 2026-06-05 https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/store/p/ride-the-wave-8-x-8-original-artwork monthly 0.5 2026-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/e19b18c3-73c0-4ac6-8f0f-fdf231a5a117/Ride+the+Wave+8+x+8_MichelleOConnorArt_2026.jpg Store - Ride the Wave - 8" x 8" Original Artwork - Ride the Wave 8 x 8_MichelleOConnorArt_2026.jpg https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/store/p/the-beginning-of-yes-10-x-10-original-artwork monthly 0.5 2026-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/a32dc2bd-ea04-446e-b3e2-9985e53a8809/IMG_8890+2.jpeg Store - The Beginning of Yes - 10" x 10" Original Artwork - IMG_8890 2.jpeg https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/store/p/the-echo-vase-5lkxl monthly 0.5 2026-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/601604b3-cc9d-47b7-9c19-9160d26c9288/IMG_8891.jpeg Store - Velocity- 10" x 10" Original Artwork - IMG_8891.jpeg https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/store/p/the-ember-vessel-2mdw5 monthly 0.5 2026-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/5b84b1b0-5f49-440b-a4ca-0ef0b02851e3/IMG_8892.jpeg Store - Acceleration - 10" x 10" Original Artwork - IMG_8892.jpeg https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/store/p/the-horizon-vase-22h4y monthly 0.5 2026-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/bc4760d4-b9ee-409c-8238-e39ac7e88792/IMG_8894.jpeg Store - Alive Again - 10" x 10" Original Artwork - IMG_8894.jpeg https://www.michelleoconnorart.net/store/p/the-solace-vessel-n732n monthly 0.5 2026-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/690a4a66137b5458388bc34a/15668353-63d6-4b72-975f-3b730fb0b46d/Offering+8+x+8_MichelleOConnorArt_2026.jpg Store - Offering - 8" x 8" Original Artwork - Offering 8 x 8_MichelleOConnorArt_2026.jpg