Memory, sense and impulse collide when creating.
Hello
Working across drawing and painting, Michelle Ashton is an emerging landscape and figurative artist, based in London. With a strong connection to storytelling, Ashton (born in South-East London in 1991), graduated with MA Design for film, TV and Events from Nottingham Trent University in 2015 and began creating in 2020.
Her work looks to expose the intensity and fragility of memory through the use of colour, texture and distortion. Using techniques of gestural abstraction juxtaposed with methodical mark making, she investigates the ways that memory shapes our experiences and enduring impressions of the world. Taking influences from Expressionist artists like Oskar Kokoschka and Post-Impressionists like Paul Cezanne, Ashton's practice is rooted in her journey as an 'ADHD creative', depicting the subjective emotions that people and places arouse.
Most recognised for her use of vibrancy and layering, Ashton has developed numerous private commissions as well as stage designs and performance illustrations for Bromley Little Theatre, Mansfield Palace Theatre and Hever Castle's Festival Theatre.
Experience
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MA Design for Film, TV and Events | Nottingham Trent University
BA Theatre Design | Nottingham Trent University
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May 2023: ‘And Still I Rise’ | Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 36” x 24”
November 2022: ‘A Kind of Drama’ | Acyrlic on canvas, 100cm x 150cm
August 2022: ‘Castello Visconteo’ | Oil and gold leaf on Clairefontaine Toile Polycotton, 50cm x 40cm
December 2021: ‘Valentino’ | Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 24” x 20”
October 2021: ‘Siblings’ | Oil and rose gold leaf on canvas, 44.5cm x 30cm
April 2021: ‘100%’ | Oil and gold leaf on Clairefontaine Toile Polycotton, 21cm x 29.7cm
Febrary 2021: ‘Where your heart beats’ | Oil and rose god leaf on Clairefontaine Toile Polycotton, 42cm x 29.7cm
December 2020: ‘Little piece of serenity’ | Oil and silver leaf on Clairefontaine Toile Polycotton, 21cm x 29.7cm
October 2020: ‘Trundling Along’ | Mixed media on paper, 21cm x 29.7cm
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2023: Girl on a Train | Illustrator, Prop Maker
2020: On the Verge | Set Designer and Prop Maker
2019: Terra Nova | Set Designer, Prop Maker and Stage Manager
2018: Pygmalion | Set Designer and Prop Maker
2018: Charles III | Set Designer
2017: Power | Prop Maker and Assistant Stage Manager
2017: People | Prop Maker
2017: Treasure Island | Assistant Stage Manager and Prop Maker
2016: Into The Woods | Assistant Stage Manager
2016: Rules for Living | Assistant Stage Manager and Prop Maker
2016: Other Desert Cities | Assistant Stage Manager