Michelle Schleider is a Contemporary Artist combining over thirty years of knowledge and skill in classical realism with a fresh, modern approach to oil painting. Her work is charged with color harmony and gesture and is painted with purpose and depth. She adds elements of her personal story and experiences to every one of her paintings.
Schleider grew up on Long Island in New York and was influenced to make art a regular practice by her mother who was an artist and art teacher. She holds a BA in Studio Art from Providence College, with a concentration in Painting and a minor in Art History. She had the memorable experience of studying art and art history in Siena and Florence, Italy at Richmond University. After graduating, Schleider explored, lived, and painted in several more cities including Tucson, Arizona; Seoul, South Korea; and San Francisco, California. For several years she took painting and drawing workshops from many well-known and accomplished artists. She then taught art classes to adults, teens, and children in traditional and atelier schools. Throughout this time, she was always a freelance artist.
In each region she’s lived and worked, she’s gained a deep appreciation for how the surrounding environment and personal experiences can influence artists and what they create. Since then, Schleider has incorporated many of her own experiences into her work, including the plants she grows, the places she visits, the people she meets, or particularly interesting subjects that grab her attention. She’ll often throw herself into deep research and learn everything she can about the subject so she has enough to work with when she creates her next painting.
Schleider currently lives and works in Upstate New York with her husband and two daughters where they treasure the four changing seasons. During the spring and summer months, they’re surrounded by hundreds of flowers they planted and a huge vegetable garden that they built together.
Schleider’s paintings are in private collections around the US and internationally. Her work has won many awards and has been included in several exhibitions, including the Cape Cod Museum of Art and the Roberson Museum in New York. She was also selected as a featured artist for Trekell Art Supplies and The Great American Paint-In. She is currently represented by Ocean Galleries on the coast of southern New Jersey and Arden Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts.