A little bit about my background – I was born and raised in Forest Grove Oregon. I’m a first-generation college student and was raised by a single father. I received my BFA at the University of Oregon and went on to receive my MFA at UC Berkeley.
I can’t remember if there was ever a time I decided to devote myself to art. It has always just been there inside of me. These animals… the women I paint…it is like they’ve always lived inside me. When I finally accepted this things started to make a little more sense.
I started to develop essential tremors when I was 20. At first, it was awful. Now I can’t imagine painting without them. They give life to my work and allow me to surrender to the lack of control I have over my hands.
…
My nature as an artist is something like longing to feel at home. Works are just temporary shelters and painting is a happy place where I can conceal myself. Home, the lack of thereof, fertility, motherhood, lust, desire, and melancholy underscore my work.
I give my hands and heart to make a place where life blossoms in the shape of a pregnant woman and the animals are there to guide her into motherhood.
[excerpted from Maake Magazine website: www.maakemagazine.com/mickey-lee]
