About

Michelle Sonoqui Gillette, studied at the Art Center College of Design, and has a B.S degree from California State University, Los Angeles. Her personal philosophy about learning, reflects the hope that she remain “teachable”.

As an oil painter, Michelle Sonoqui collaborates with the observer, by interpreting a moment in time, yet leaving a bit of the detail and narrative, to be uniquely completed by each viewer. She delights in very loose brush strokes,  a calming tonalist palette, and a lightness of being.

An avid plein air painter, she is grateful for the opportunity to have painted the honkey tonks in downtown Nashville, the beaches and coastal villages of Laguna Beach and the working farms of the great Central Valley of California. Travel to Singapore, Thailand, Greece and Italy, have been a gift of language and place, that has greatly influenced her plein air work. 

Her great respect for the land and biodiversity of the Sierra Foothills, is represented in her recent work - contemporary impressionist paintings of the land, barns and ranches  that are the heart of small towns and tribal land, such as OʼNeals and North Fork.

Artist, Michelle Sonoqui Gillette, continues her familyʼs early history and traditions, while tending the land of a small ranch, in OʼNeals, California. Her family name, ʻSonoquiʼ is likely a variation of Sinohui, or Sinoquipe in the state of Sonora, Mexico; and the Sonoqui Creek that flourished through the vast tribal land that is now Arizona.  The name 'Sinoqui' is pronounced 'si neoki', and means 'very talk (talks alot). In contemporary Tohono O'odham language, the name 'Sinoqui' is pronounced 'si neokidag' - meaning 'talkative'. It calls to mind, the Sonoqui Creek, that might have splashed and bubbled with every turn, in a joyful chorus of a water song. 

Recent group shows/activities include:

.  May 2014 - 'Valley View' juried show, Stellar Gallery, Oakhurst, California

.  October 2013 - Sierra Art Trails, Sierra Foothills, California

.  November 2013 - Juried show, Stellar Gallery, Oakhurst, California

.  April 2013 - Randy Higby Gallery, 'Less is More" juried show

.  November  2012 - "Pathways" juried show, Stellar Gallery, Oakhurst, California

.  October  2012 - Sierra Art Trails, Sierra Foothills, California
.  August  2012 - Laguna Beach City Hall, Laguna Beach, California
.  February 2012 - Debra Huse Gallery, Balboa Island, Paint-Out/Exhibit
.  November 2011 - Wells Fargo Bank, Laguna Beach, "Banking on Art"
.  November 2011 - Juried show, Stellar Gallery, Oakhurst, California
.  October 2011 Sierra Art Trails, Sierra Foothills, California
.  March 2011 - Hortense Miller Garden, Invitation/Show, Laguna Beach, California
.  September 2010 - Wells Fargo Bank, Laguna Beach, "Banking on Art"
.  June 2010 - Art in the Garden, Library Benefit, San Joaquin Valley
   Library System, Madera County, California

Affiliations

• Laguna Plein Air Painters Association

• California Art Club   • Oil Painters of America