Using paint to explore the overlooked and abandoned, British artist Michelle Heron immortalises the many threatened independent stores that make our high streets what they are. Michelle's figurative paintings take viewers on a nostalgic trip down memory lane, documenting the many distinct shop fronts, greasy spoons, and launderettes of bygone eras.
Influenced by iconic realists Edward Hopper and George Shaw, Michelle approaches her work with a sensitive use of colour and light to capture the mood and feel of everyday scenes. She maintains an incredibly human touch in her urban works, combining style, technique, and feeling to give life to her locations.
"It’s such a clever way of tackling landscape, to give us a focus of a shopfront. It makes you think of the Impressionists when they loved painting people through glass, sitting in cafes or bars."
KATE BRYON, CURATOR AND TV PRESENTER.