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Michelle Gladu

Photography, Visual / Media

About the Artist

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Artist's Statement

Most inspired by the masters artists of Impressionism, Michelle strives to capture the feeling of the moment through color, light, and movement. Water is a major component in her work, which includes both abstract and rural landscape images of the eastern shore. The current series: "Reflections" fully embraces the concept of Impressionism. Utilizing the inherent nature of water, each image is at least 85% reflection and, when printed on canvas or fine art etching paper, are often confused as paintings.

Featured Work

Photos

Photograph of Cattails Reflected in the Chester River. Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland.
Years ago, my mother contracted someone to build a pond with a waterfall in her front yard. I often thought about photographing the pond, but my timing always seemed a little off. By the middle of May the surface is covered by lily pads, by mid-November it is usually frozen over, and all other times I never seemed to be armed with my camera. At last, this past March, there was a warm spell that melted the icy surface of the pond and the grey days of winter melted with it. The only reflection in the water was the yellowed stalks of water iris that lined the edge of the pond. I was not feeling optimistic. Suddenly, the sun found its way through the canopy of trees and hit the ripples in the pond, shimmering across the water. The hose the feeds the pond was not yet returned to the waterfall but rested on the ground forcing water across the pond's surface. This combination of light and large ripples reshaped the reflection of dead grass into yellow pansies, and offered a wonderful celebration of spring.