Michelle Roberts has been creative for as long as she can remember, whether it was drawing, building, or even serving as an interior designer for her Barbie dolls. She took one oil painting class in college, but it would be years before painting became more than a hobby. Around the time the pandemic hit, Roberts was working as a marketing and brand strategist, longing for a way to step away from the computer—and looking to rebuild from past traumas. One day, she picked up a paintbrush, and she never stopped. In the years since, she's painted hundreds of pieces. More than that, painting has helped her heal and rebuild.
Moving from Syracuse back to Rochester, she found herself essentially starting over. Painting, she says, "developed into a way to heal in ways that I couldn't heal in other ways. There's a very powerful way in which art heals at a deep soul level. That really was the turning point when I started to develop that style, and I painted every day. It was life-changing for me."
In the beginning, she took virtual classes to further develop her skills, which helped her home in on her own style, though it's also ever-evolving. "I'm getting to this place where it's moody, emotionally restorative, with an imaginative side to it. It's sort of impressionist meets contemporary impressionist," she says. "I want someone to look at it and feel something."
An Emotional Canvas
For Roberts, painting should evoke emotion and bring people back to a feeling, not just a scene. Instead of just seeing a boat on a canvas, she wants a boat coming out of the fog to tell a story and impact people on a deeper level. Nature inspires her work and also reminds her to slow down and reconnect with herself. "Those are the moments I try to capture, so someone else can experience them long after the walk is over," she says.
She doesn't only create original artwork; she also works on commission for custom pieces, like a friend who asked her to paint the view of her lakehouse as an anniversary gift. She also does pet portraits and offers large-scale limited-edition prints for interior designers to purchase for the homes they're working on.
Building a Brand
With a background in branding and marketing, Roberts has worked to develop relationships with buyers, collectors, and interior designers. A partnership with HGTV, which sold her artwork at its flagship store, also helped boost her visibility as an artist. Today, the downstairs of her home is her gallery studio, where people come to see and buy her work. Her work can also be found at the Rochester Fine Art Gallery and Abode Rochester in Pittsford. Ever the creative, she's also dabbled in other forms of art, like her Messenger Birds side project, handheld birds made of clay that were sold at Hallmark stores nationwide.
Roberts encourages people to reach out if they're interested in seeing her work. She schedules private viewings at her gallery and also does two shows a year: a holiday show and a spring show. This past year, she opted out of her spring show and instead partnered with the nonprofit Willow for a fundraiser, donating a portion of all proceeds from the sale of her work to the organization, which serves as a center and hotline for those who have experienced domestic violence.
Finding Gratitude Through Art
In addition to the healing Roberts has found through art, she's also found gratitude. "For me, gratitude begins with the privilege of doing this work," she says. "Every painting allows me into someone's life. I don't just sell artwork—I hear their stories. I learn about the chapters they're living through: a new home, the loss of a loved one, healing after illness, a retirement, the beginning of a marriage, or the family they're building."
Recently, a collector shared a letter they wrote to their children after purchasing two of her paintings. With one child not even a year old yet, the letters are meant to pass down to their children when they're old enough to understand the meaning of the paintings, including what that season of life meant and why those paintings would always hang in their home.
"Moments like that remind me that art isn't decoration. It becomes a marker of a family's history. It quietly witnesses birthdays, difficult conversations, celebrations, healing, and ordinary days that eventually become memories. As an artist, I feel incredibly grateful that someone would trust me with something so deeply personal," she says. "Ultimately, I hope my paintings become places people return to—not because they're valuable, but because they remind them of what matters most."
"Every painting allows me into someone's life. I don't just sell artwork—I hear their stories."