Local Growth...

"You Say Tomato…" lithographs were created in 2000 from an original oil painting of a farm stand owned by local farmer Tom Talmage, on Long Lane in East Hampton, New York. The painting is a depiction of the roadside farm stand "unmanned," using an honor code of payment. This is truly a sign of the old times, and a rarity now.

Lithographs are unsigned, printed on heavy paper stock, and show text at the bottom reading:  "You Say Tomato…"   The Hamptons      Michele Mott.

Limited Editions are printed on fine linen paper, signed and numbered. A certificate of authenticity accompanies each Limited Edition.

Prints are available to purchase at the farm stand on Long Lane, East Hampton (directly across from East Hampton High School) for $25.00 during it's season of operation. Limited Editions can be purchased by ordering by phone from Michele Mott.

Excerpts from The Southampton Press January 31, 2002 Art Review

Fine Work in 2 Shows

By Darius Yektai

Chrysalis Gallery

Visitors should do their best not to be overwhelmed when entering the Chrysalis Gallery in Southampton. The gallery walls are covered: double-hung with paintings on top of already triple-hung walls. Every painting is professionally framed, most with gilt moldings. Once the viewer has distinguished between the works of different artists and focused on individual pieces, there can be no question as to the level of quality and sheer beauty on display.

There is tremendous variety in the work on display and all of the artists represented demonstrate mastery of the medium chosen to some extent.

Aside from the very interesting and obviously developing painting style of the young William St. Pierre, there is one painting that has stayed in my mind since I left the gallery. The small painting by Michele Mott titled “Turning Leaves” measures a mere 3 inches by 5 inches and is painted exactly as beautifully as the warm sunny day it depicts.

Three trees stand on an East End field, raising themselves above the land. With blue sky behind the leaves, there is a palpable air around the trees that feels warm and pleasant, extremely peaceful. This is an excellent expression of the natural beauty around us through the tangible beauty of oil paint on board.

Dan's Papers: Honoring the Artist

August 22, 2003

Honoring the Artist: Michele Mott

Sag Harbor artist Michele Mott is a fortunate individual. She has always known that pursuing art was her life’s calling, and she has never wavered from that commitment. Ms. Mott says she owes it to both growing up on the East End and her mother’s encouragement.

“I always knew I wanted to be an artist,” Ms. Mott notes with resolve. “I’ve loved art since I was five. Maybe it was because of the influence of the artists’ community here; I remember once meeting de Kooning, and that memory stayed with me. If I had to grow up some place, fate brought me here. My mother encouraged me too. She took my passion seriously. It’s ironic, however, that I live by the sea and I don’t paint seascapes.”

What Ms. Mott does paint are landscapes, her passion for barns and farmland just as intense as her love for art. (This week’s cover, “Summer Splendor,” is an example.) According to the artist, this attraction is a long-standing one: “I’ve always liked barns that are old and have a rustic feel. Often they are seen in the distance, becoming like friends or little characters.”

Another irony is at play as well. Ms. Mott started painting barns when she lived in Massachusetts, not East Hampton, and landscapes were not the only subject matter she created. “ I started doing portraits when I attended Soutampton College, although I remember painting a portrait of my mother when I was thirteen,” she explains. “Transferring to Southampton College from an institution in North Carolina was the best thing I did.”

No matter what the subject matter, Ms. Mott employs a variety of techniques: “I use mainly oil paint on wood. This way it’s possible to remove something with an electric sander,” she says laughing a bit. “It can be shocking to see me use the sander. I also paint with watercolors and pencil, especially when I do commissions.”

Regarding style, however, Ms. Mott sticks to primarily one approach, realism, although she respects a variety of styles: “I love realism, looking beneath the surface; I’m very detailed. But I also admire Impressionism. It’s not what I do, but maybe I’ll get less tight in the future. I admire Van Gogh and Rembrandt too.”

Continuing with the idea that her own style might change, Ms. Mott notes with intensity that “I used to be really organized in my personal life; now I’m getting less so. Perhaps my painting will get less restrictive. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll just paint noses. An artist should be free. Whatever I do, I know I’ll follow my heart.”

 -Marion Wolberg Weiss

Ms. Mott’s work can be seen at the Chrysalis Gallery in Southampton

Dan's Papers: Honoring the Artist

October 12, 2001

Honoring the Artist: Michele Mott

Michele Mott is a homegrown artist, having lived most of her life in the Hamptons. Her personality is just as down-to-earth. Come to think of it, so is her art. Not only does her work deal literally with the earth (like the cover piece) -farms, barns and produce stands- but her paintings are filled with images evoking comfort, security, and old fashioned ideas that are slowly going out of style.

While Ms. Mott may be an energetic, articulate, and contemporary person who likes to scuba dive in adventurous places, she cares very deeply about the past, particularly how our local landscape is changing to accommodate modern times. She feels a keen responsibility to preserve the past and its traditions through her art as best she can.

"I don't just paint old farmhouses," Ms. Mott reflects on a rainy Saturday morning as she sits in her sunny kitchen. The room itself is part of an old farmhouse. "I talk to the farmers, and get to know them. I've met so many wonderful people this way."

One such farmer is Bruno Madzelan, owner of an organic farm in Riverhead that Ms. Mott has painted. "Bruno taught me about barn structures," Ms. Mott offers. It's apparent they have a special relationship from the pictures she shows her visitor.

Ms. Mott shares other aspects of her connection to the landscape and its inhabitants. "I'm very much a feeling person", she notes. "When I see a barn, I know if I want to paint it, if I'll like the people who live there. It's a total feeling. I want to go beyond the surface of what I see, like Dali did, for example."

Ms. Mott's reference to Dali makes it apparent that she has an art background. When asked about her training, Ms. Mott's eyes light up. "I've been painting since I was five, but my art teacher at East Hampton High School, Brenda Herbert, influenced me greatly. She always told her students that we had to love art to be there. Then I had a wonderful teacher at Southampton College, Michael Rosch. He knew what I wanted to achieve, and he helped me to pinpoint it. Despite their encouragement, there were many people who were telling me I shouldn't be an artist, because artists don't make much money."

Ms. Mott has proven the skeptics wrong. After graduating from college, she moved to Massachusetts where she made a living painting figurines for Vaillancourt Folk Art, and doing commissions. One day she remembers riding her bike in the country and saw a barn that was just glowing from the sunset. She went home for a camera, but by the time she got back to the barn, the light had disappeared. It was from that experience, Ms. Mott says that "I decided to paint barns from then on."

Ms. Mott is still painting barns, having moved back to the area from Massachusetts. "I'm doing what I love," she says with conviction. "And I'm trying to help in my way to preserve the land."

 -Marion Wolberg Weiss

Ms. Mott’s work can be seen at the Chrysalis Gallery in Southampton