Michelle Mc Goldrick
Born 1972
Education:
 
Leaving Cert     (8 Honours)                     1990                 Mercy College, Sligo
 
Degree in Mathematical Science           1990 – 1994    University College Galway
 
Diploma in Business Studies                   1995                  Commercial Academy
                                                                                                Roscommon
 
Certificate in Fashion Design                  2011                  St Angela’s College Sligo
 
Degree in Fine Art                                     2012 – 2015     Sligo IT
 
Work Experience:
 
Accountant                                                1995 - 1996
Sherlock Hamilton & Co
Sligo
 
Self employed   1998 – 2000   Business Importing/Wholesaling and Retailing Craft/Art and Jewellery from Morocco
 
Accountant                                             2000 - 2003
Noel Gilmartin & Co
Sligo
 
Full Time mother 2003 - 2012            
 
Exhibitions/Group Shows
The Model Sligo                                            1998                 
The Atrium, Sligo Nazareth House            April 2012, April 2013
Greenacres, Selskar, Wexford                    January 2012, 2015
Boyle Arts Festival Fringe                            2013, 2014

 
Biography
Michelle Mc Goldrick resides in Sligo with her two daughters.  Having stayed at home to be a full time mother for eight years she decided to go back to study the Degree in Art which she had longed to study for many years.  Having now finished a Degree in Fine Art, aside from painting she would like to continue study to become an art therapist.  She works part time for the Domestic Violence Advocacy Service and would like to help women through art.

Artist Statement
 
The subject matter of my paintings is primarily figurative, made up of rich oil paint, evoking emotion, memories and gestures.  I work on instinct, choosing a colour, then building on that colour with shapes and other marks.  What initially appears to be a dark painting evolves into an artwork of several vibrant patterns connecting with each other to make a strong overall form.  I tend to work on large scale paintings as I feel this gives me a deeper connection to my subject matter.  The figure in the painting becomes a reflection of myself and my experiences.  The notion that many small elements make a complete form is evident in my work.  As human beings we are made from many elements, thoughts, emotions, characteristics to make one complete being and this idea follows through in my work.
 
Similar to primitive art found in cave paintings and rock walls which depict the raw expression of being human, “mark-making” is important to my work.  Symbols in my work are an expression of human experiences.  My paintings contain memories, emotions, struggles and triumphs where as human beings today we still need to survive.  I try to depict these life experiences through colour, small patterns and shapes to form something bigger than the shape itself.
Michelle Mc Goldrick