by Luke Voogt
Single mum-of-five Michelle Boland has had her head in the clouds since rediscovering her love of art, seven years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The celestial objects are among the many things that inspire her “reignited” passion for painting, the Bell Post Hill local told the Independent.
“I’m always pointing out clouds: ‘look at those – they’re amazing’,” she said.
“The skies and the clouds are never the same two days in a row and I find that absolutely fascinating.”
Michelle, 37, officially opened her first solo exhibition, Metamorphosis, on Friday after returning to painting in 2017.
“I’m very excited, nervous and scared, all rolled into one,” she said earlier that week.
“I’m excited that I’ve got my work out there, nervous about how many people might turn up and scared nobody will.”
Michelle began drawing as soon as “she could hold pencil” but says her passion “faded away” when she had her first child at 19.
At 30, in 2012, when her youngest was one, Michelle was diagnosed with MS.
The disease damages nerves, resulting in symptoms including pain, fatigue, loss of balance and impaired co-ordination.
She described the diagnosis as “actually kind of a relief” after six weeks of symptoms without knowing their cause.
“I’d been through so many tests that my GP sent me off for,” she said.
“I was upset [by the diagnosis] but I was like, ‘OK, so that’s what we’re dealing with, where do we go from here?’”
The effects of MS can be minimal for Michelle, while at other times a “relapse” leaves her unable to get around without a walking frame.
“The main way it affects my daily life is fatigue,” she said.
“I also don’t have full sensation in both of my hands.”
Michelle battled through the symptoms, raising her children and working casually as they got older.
In 2017, a friend who saw some of Michelle’s artwork from when she was a teenager, urged her to enrol in a certificate II in visual arts.
“It reignited that passion and I realised painting is who I am and how I can express myself the best,” Michelle said.
“Knowing my life expectancy is slightly shorter just makes me want to live life to the fullest extent and not take anything for granted.”
She says MS can affect her fine motor skills, making patience vital for her painting.
“I get frustrated when I have an image in my head and I don’t get it like that straight away,” she said.
“Some days I just need to embrace what my hands are able to do and be content with that – it’s part of who I am.”
But her passion for art always overcomes her frustrations.
“I love the process of painting – starting with this plain white canvas and just slapping paint on it,” she said.
“As a mum, most of what I do gets undone in five minutes. With painting it gets done and it stays finished.”
Her recreation of English painter William Turner’s 1801 masterpiece Dutch Boats on a Gale hangs on a wall at home in testament to that.
Michelle describes her style as realism, with a hint of the surreal to express her sense of humour.
“I’ve got a giant snail climbing a lighthouse, which people seem to love,” she said.
“The kids have nicknamed it ‘Snailzilla’ and they think it’s hilarious.”
Michelle usually works on three paintings at a time, which can each take from weeks to months to complete, she explained.
“[I will] work on one and then move onto another as the paint dries,” she said.
“I’ll have a third because if I’m not getting the others quite right I need to put them in timeout.
“I have been known to turn a painting [towards] the wall and put a cloth over it so I can’t see it.”
Her current “splotches of colour” will eventually depict scenes from the Great Ocean Road and Lara, and animals, she said.
Like much of her work, she based the paintings on photos.
“I’m sure the kids are sick of me: ‘oh I need to take a photo!’” she said.
“They say, ‘you see that all the time mum!’”
Her artistry has rubbed off on the kids, who use dance, music, drawing and Lego, among others, to express their creativity.
“I feel like that’s going to be my legacy – that’s how I’m going to live on though the kids,” she said.
After finishing her advanced diploma in visual arts this year and gaining entry into Deakin University, Michelle took the plunge and decided to exhibit her work.
“If I don’t book in something now I know, I’m going to chicken out and not continue to push myself,” she said.
Her exhibition, Metamorphosis, runs at Artisans of Australia, Drysdale, until February 16. Entry is free. Michelle’s work is available for sale.
“You only need to part with your money if you like my work enough!” she said.
