Rising Plymouth Artist Michele Combs

How one local artist creates a visual catalog of life experiences with her impressionistic paintings

By: Angela Johnson | From the issue: January 2013

Photo: Amanda Gahler

Michele Combs at work in her Minneapolis space. Studio 391.

Michele Combs never would have guessed a single painting class would shift her focus from career track to life calling. An occupational therapist by trade, Combs spent her days as a therapist before picking up a paint brush 20 years ago at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts (Arts Center). “I was surprised by what I could do,” Combs says. “I really enjoyed it.”

Wall murals were a popular component of interior design at the time of Combs’ entrance into the art world, so she began experimenting with that painting style. In the late 1990s, she took a class at the Minnesota River School of Fine Arts. “The instructor there really turned my skills around for the better,” she says. And while Combs is not a natural drawer, she says the class “improved my drawing ability and my ability to create realistic images.”

Next, she began by focusing on realism. Gradually, Combs became interested in broken color and an impressionistic style. She loves the rich finish of oil-based paint and says, “The thick, gooey texture of oil allows me to use a variety of tools, paint brushes—even a palette knife.”

Combs now paints full-time, but she’s never stopped honing her talent with classes taught by nationally renowned artists. “Five years ago,” Combs says, “I met an artist named Mary Pettis who’s been a great mentor. Since meeting her, my skills have grown tremendously. I’ve learned to better understand the components that make up painting.”

Those components include line, shape, color, value, texture and edge, which Combs works to incorporate into her impressionistic paintings. Most of her work is landscapes that come from a process of painting from both live visualization and photography. “I like to have both for my studio work,” she says. “I’ll go to a site and paint a small version of the scene, but I’ll also take pictures. I take the small painting and the photos back to my studio to create the larger piece for shows.”