**Michael-Che painting with her mobile arm support.**

Artist Statement:

Michael-Che Swisher's work is inspired by her love of animals and nature. As a child, she dragged home every injured squirrel, bunny, and bird. As an adult, she became a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator and fostered many kittens. The artist often had baby opossums and squirrels as residents and at other times, a house full of playful kittens.

With each painting, the artist focuses on color and texture. Michael-Che's style is instinctive. Colors and tools are selected as the painting develops. Brushes, painting knives, and other unexpected tools are utilized to create the artist's characteristic levels of texture. Mixing colors on both the palette and canvas allows the artist to experience the joy of manipulating thick layers of paint.

The artist was very curious as a child, asking lots of questions and always wanting to know ‘how’ and ‘why’. This curiosity lead to always wanting to see new places and try new things. Michael-Che has hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon alone, walked the bushveld in South Africa with two lions, had a giraffe wrap his tongue around her hand, slept on Alcatraz, and kayaked with sea otters. She has explored beautiful California from the coast to the mountains by boat, trail, and train.

The adventures have gotten smaller and now have to be done in adaptive ways as Michael-Che lives with multiple sclerosis which at times interferes with her painting, weakening her eye muscles and the right side of her body. In early 2013, the artist experienced severe muscle weakness in her right arm and shoulder and a loss of fine motor control in her hand. She was unable to paint for the rest of the year.

More about how MS changed Michael-Che’s career path.

Today, the artist paints with the assistance of a mobile arm support. Despite the pain and challenges involved, Michael-Che is determined to paint.

Before turning to fine art, Ms. Swisher was an illustrator for seven years. She illustrated four children's books and her artwork is displayed on dinnerware, bed & bath items, book covers, in magazines, and advertisements. Michael-Che's paintings can be found in private collections throughout the U.S., Europe, and in Japan, Australia, Korea, and Canada.

More About Michael-Che:

I attended the Academy Of Art in San Francisco back in 1995. This is the Illustration building now. The Academy has buildings all over the city, but as an Illustration major, this one up the steep hill on Powell Street was where I had most of my classes.

I felt many earthquakes in this building and the Blue Angels could make it shake quite a bit.

Maryland childhood to California adulthood…

I grew up in western Maryland. The area is rich with history and historical sites. Of course, I arrived in San Francisco and sought out the most famous historical site in the area.

UNIQUE & UNUSUAL Life Experiences:

That make great inspiration

I have slept in the cells on Alcatraz- many times.

I worked on Alcatraz, The Rock, while I was in art school in San Francisco. On the weekends, I walked over the very steep hill out to the wharf to catch the ferry to deal with thousands of tourists all day. One of the perks was that we got to sleep over sometimes and run around the island all night. The cell house roof is the best place to see the fireworks on the 4th of July.

I had an epileptic pet squirrel when I was in elementary school.

Elkhorn Slough is one of the most enchanting places on earth.

**Me bunking in the Birdman’s cell. He did not have birds on Alcatraz. That was Leavenworth and the reason he was sent to Alcatraz.**

**Claiming my cell once the last visitors loaded the ferry.**

I hiked through the Grand Canyon by myself when I was in art school, an amazing experience. I do not recommend doing it in August, unless you enjoy heat stroke.