Artful Living

Kiwi artist Sam Michelle paints vivid still lifes from her home studio south of Melbourne.

- Fiona Ralph

After moving from Wellington to Melbourne at the age of 17, Sam Michelle embarked on a 13-year career in banking. She continued her beloved painting practice in her downtime until five years ago, when she took the plunge and went full time. Unsurprisingly, the beautiful oil paintings Sam creates, of seasonal floral arrangements styled with her unique collection of ceramics and textiles, have been a hit.

She now lives and works just south of Melbourne with her husband, Darren, and sons Carter and Jasper (named after All Black Dan Carter and Australian artist Jasper Knight), plus “two elderly dogs, one elderly cat and one teenage cat”. Here she shares some insights into her background and creative process.

Did your upbringing influence you as an artist?

My sister and I were spoilt without even knowing it as both sets of grandparents were very creative. As youngsters, we would enter and blitz all the local colouring competitions (lovingly encouraged and supported by our artistic mum).

Visits to our grandparents’ were great fun and we were always learning new ways to be creative. Around the time I turned 16, my grandpa could see how passionate I was about painting and, as his eyesight was sadly deteriorating, he kindly gifted me his oil paints, painting tools and lovely art books.

How did you get into painting?

I took up painting in fourth form at Wellington Girls’ College and it quickly became a constant for me. It was all I wanted to be doing during my lunch breaks and weekends. I had a wonderful art teacher who gave me a beautiful confidence in experimentation. She employed me to teach her niece once a week after school, which was an amazing experience for me at that age.