Michelle Dunaway is an American artist known for her bold brushwork and sensitive portrayals of emotion that illuminate the human experience. Drawn to the human form from a young age, she has maintained a lifelong fascination with portraiture. Her artwork has appeared in international exhibitions and leading publications such as Fine Art Connoisseur, Art of the West, International Artist, American Art Collector, Southwest Art, and American Artist.
Dunaway has received numerous awards, including Finalist and Award of Exceptional Merit at the Portrait Society of America’s International Portrait Competition in 2010 and 2016, a Certificate of Excellence from the Portrait Society in 2014 and 2017, and Finalist recognition in the Art Renewal Center’s ARC Salon. She was also a featured invited artist at the 2014 California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition.
Though she paints a range of subjects, Dunaway’s primary passion remains portraiture. After studying anatomy and drawing at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, she continued her training through workshops with Jeremy Lipking and Morgan Weistling, both of whom became close friends and early supporters. At one of Lipking’s first workshops, he and his wife purchased a painting Dunaway brought for critique and helped introduce her to a Beverly Hills gallery, launching her gallery career.
Dunaway spent several years in California painting from life and exhibiting in Los Angeles and Laguna Beach while completing private portrait commissions. In 2009 she returned to New Mexico, settling into a studio overlooking the Sandia Mountains and joining a respected Santa Fe gallery. While preparing work for exhibitions, she continued entering competitions. Her still life Mucha and Peonies won Best of Show in an online competition, and her portrait of two sisters was selected as one of sixteen finalists, out of 1,300 entries. for the Portrait Society of America’s International Portrait Competition. Exhibited in Washington, D.C., the piece earned an award and drew the attention of renowned artist Richard Schmid, who invited her to paint with him and Nancy Guzik in Vermont. Their resulting friendship has influenced her artistic growth; Schmid has praised her as “a force in this movement toward excellence in painting.
Dunaway frequently receives invitations to give demonstrations, lectures, and workshops internationally, attracting artists from around the world. She believes deeply in “passing on the torch” of artistic knowledge and makes time to teach despite a demanding exhibition schedule. For her, creating great art means “putting light into the world”, capturing luminosity on canvas and sharing wisdom with other artists. A particularly meaningful affirmation came in 2015 when Richard Ormond, John Singer Sargent’s grandnephew, told her after a main-stage demonstration that watching her paint eased his lifelong concerns about preserving Sargent’s legacy. Dunaway’s work is exhibited in galleries across the United States and is highly sought after by collectors for its timeless quality and ability to capture the essence of the individual. Her paintings are held in private collections throughout North America and Europe.
