Meet Ohio-based Artist Michelle Paine

“Christ Sightings: Triyptych” . 3 panels, 10” x 8” Oil on metal leaf on panel 

© Michelle Arnold Paine

MICHELLE PAINE is an artist practicing painting, drawing and printmaking in Perrysburg, Ohio. Website | Email: paintings@michellepaine.com

CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION (CAC): Where are you from originally, and what brought you to Perrysburg?

MICHELLE PAINE (MP): I grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. I went to college at a small Christian college north of Boston and subsequently spent more than a decade in New England, after having lived in Italy for three years. We moved to Northwest Ohio four years ago so that my husband could come work for the Coming Home Network International, a Catholic apostolate which ministers to non-Catholic clergy seeking to enter the Catholic Church. 

CAC: How do understand your vocation as a Catholic artist? Do you call yourself a Catholic artist?

MP: I call myself a Christian artist rather than a Catholic artist. I have exhibited my work in churches of many denominations and many of my collectors are non-Catholic Christians who love the liturgy and beauty of historic Christianity. It is a great gift to me that they learn a bit more about Mary and the beauty of the Church through my art. I see my role as one of bringing beauty to people while communicating Christian truth through images.

CAC: Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?

MP: Initially, the art of the Catholic Church was one of several things that attracted me towards Catholicism. While studying and then working in Italy, Medieval and Renaissance art taught me truths about Mary, the Eucharist, and Scripture that I had not known in my Evangelical upbringing.  The people I met in Italy, both in the Charismatic Community and the Sisters who hosted our study abroad program, all affirmed the role of art and beauty in teaching and building faith. The artistic tradition in the Catholic Church encouraged me towards reception into the Catholic church.  My path towards Catholicism and my acceptance of my vocation as an artist are deeply intertwined.

Since architecture is a major theme in my work, I have been able to serve my parishes in a practical way by creating drawings and paintings of our beautiful churches which they have purchased as gifts for parish staff or for the parish. This began years ago at my very first American parish in Cambridge, MA when I created a drawing of our beautiful church before they closed it and it was converted into condos.

Artists in the organization Christians in the Visual Arts have been a steady source of Christian community for me for many years. More recently Catholic Creatives has provided a community of specifically Catholic artists and it is wonderful to have that more focused overlap of Christian community. 

CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?

MP: I have found support from fellow artist for my faith by making quality work. Sacred architecture has been a theme of of my gallery paintings for a number of years. Artists who know my work sometimes tell me they don’t go to church anymore, but find something profoundly spiritual in my paintings. My recent two-artist exhibit at a Toledo gallery was titled by the Gallery Director “Divine Dimensions”. Artists are sensitive to transcendence, and so they recognize “Divinity” when it manifests itself in quality of craft.

“Christ Calming the Storm”, 10” x 8”. Oil on metal leaf on panel 

© Michelle Arnold Paine

CAC: Where do you go to get inspired in Ohio?

MP: The Toledo Museum of Art has a stellar, world-class collection and exhibition program. 20 North Gallery in Toledo and Hudson Gallery in Sylvania exhibit great painters on a regular basis and I love to visit to be inspired!

CAC: How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist in your city?

MP: The community of Catholic Creatives Michigan has been a real blessing and support over the last couple of years. We are only an hour from Ann Arbor and Detroit and so I’ve been able to connect with some of the people I met at the Catholic Creatives Summit on an ongoing basis. 

CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice?

MP: I try and spend a few minutes each day with the Mass readings and then just some time spent writing in my journal working out thoughts, problems, and prayers. It is a blessing to have perpetual adoration available to us just a few minutes away, and I try to make it over there every couple of weeks. Being primary caregiver to young children has made it difficult to adhere to regular practice but I am growing.

CAC: What is your daily artistic practice?

MP: As a mother my daily artistic practice is not so “daily”. I have more of a weekly rhythm, according to my babysitter’s schedule or the M/W/F preschool schedule. In the days before smart phones I carried a sketchbook everywhere and made sketches on the bus, waiting in line, everywhere. I am trying to get back to that habit, now more likely to make sketches at the playground or the kitchen table.

CAC: How do you afford housing as an artist?

MP: We moved to Northwest Ohio! We moved so that my husband could work for the Coming Home Network International and the decreased cost of living has taken so much stress from us. 


For years living in Boston I never thought I would be able to own a home but in this area it is completely within reach.  Working hard to eliminate our consumer and student debt early in our marriage has given us much more financial freedom. Where we live now there are fewer opportunities for artists then there were in Boston, but more possibility to become well-known in the community.  

CAC: How do you financially support yourself as an artist?

MP: Before I had children I was an adjunct instructor of Art and Design at several colleges in the Boston area. Sales of my artwork supported my studio rental and costs, and the teaching supported my living expenses. While being primary caregiver to my children we rely on my husband for living expenses and sales of my artwork provide us with some extras like vacations and home upgrades. I have just begun working with Christians in the Visual Arts as their community ambassador, which is a wonderful fusion of my interests and gifts. 

CAC: What is your best advice for Catholic artists post-graduation?

MP: Think twice, or maybe ten times, before deciding on graduate school as the next step.

“Via Dolorosa”. 10” x 8”. Oil on metal leaf on panel © Michelle Arnold Paine