Cole Gallery

Michelle Waldele

Michelle Waldele
Michelle Waldele was born in Portland Oregon in 1964 and has lived in the Pacific Northwest ever since. She began studying art at an early age, enrolling in every visual art course available through the local public schools, which were fortunately fairly extensive.

She received a Bachelor’s of Fine Art from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks with a Major in Drawing and Minor in Metals. After graduation she worked as a scrimshaw artist for ten years and an illustrator for five while raising her two children alongside her husband Ken. Michelle then resumed her training of traditional academic drawing and oil painting techniques at the Gage Academy in Seattle, where she studied with such exceptional artists as John Morra, Anthony Ryder, Juliette Aristides, and Geoffrey Laurence.

Michelle is a passionate painter of still life in the classical realist tradition. With an affinity for collecting antique toys, she loves painting objects with which she feels a strong connection. In addition to her painting, Michelle teaches art to both children and adults at her home studio. She lives and paints in Bothell with her husband Ken. Her work can be found in private collections throughout the United States.