Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Wanhala.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I knew when I was very young that I wanted to make art for a living. I tried the art school thing for a while and ended up dropping out and finding a tattoo apprenticeship. I’ve been tattooing professionally now for six years and in the past couple of years have started showing paintings at galleries and museums. The path to where I am now was a little rocky, art school sucked, my tattoo apprenticeships were awful, and I moved around a bit before settling in Chicago, but I am super happy to be where I am now.
Please tell us about your art.
I focus mainly on tattooing but I paint and draw as well. The imagery in my work tends to be a good mix of cute and creepy. Cartoons, traditional tattooing, kitschy knick-knacks, and being a girl in the ’90s inspired a lot of my subject matter. It means the world to me that people want to wear my goofy drawings on their bodies.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
I think success in the art world is a good mix of making enough money to survive and being able to make art that you love creating. If you are overworked, it is important to be able to take breaks. And if you start to loathe the medium or style you are working in, I think it is important to make a change despite how other people might feel about it. For me, success is being able to make a living while staying true to one’s own artistic agenda.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I work at Pioneer Tattoo in Lakeview. You can make an appointment with me to get tattooed or check out my portfolio on my Instagram @mwanhala. Paintings of mine can be seen in different galleries around the Chicago area.
Contact Info:
- Website: instagram.com/mwanhala
- Email: michellewanhala22@gmail.com
- Instagram: mwanhala
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