Artist Michelle Holman and Her 'Visual Snow' Art

Today’s post is brought to you from The Visual Snow Initiative in conjunction with Art in Res. You’ll find more about The Visual Snow Initiative in the following interview, as well as on their website. VSI strives to offer hope, resources, and the “Care of Understanding” to those with Visual Snow Syndrome.

One of our Art in Res artists, Michelle Holman, recently discovered she has a visual condition called 'Visual Snow' and now she makes paintings about how she sees! So cool! We decided to have a chat with her about her experience and how Visual Snow plays a role in how she approaches her art practice. Michelle takes a lighthearted approach to her visual condition and graciously opens up about her gorgeous painting technique.

Enjoy learning more about Michelle, Visual Snow, and her unique paintings in the following interview!

Hi Michelle! We’re so excited to have you with Art in Res today. Please introduce yourself to our collectors and fellow artists.

I’m Michelle Holman. I’m from Texarkana, Texas and I currently live in Brooklyn, NY. I’m an artist, a teacher, and I also work as an artist assistant. My own artwork is inspired by a visual condition I have called Visual Snow.

Can you tell us a little about Visual Snow and how it factors into your art practice?

I first started experiencing Visual Snow when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, but I didn't really know what it was at the time. I kept seeing all of these dots, asking my mom about them. I went to a few doctors and had multiple unpleasant eye exams and an MRI to see what was wrong with my vision. We didn't have Google back then; so we couldn't just look up my symptoms. After all test results came back as normal, I just accepted that I saw the world differently than other people.

Then, when I was in Grad School I started creating work on vision, specifically my vision –– well, I’ve always been interested in eye contact in people. I was doing large scale portraits and would do really intricate detail on the eyes for my undergrad work.

Later in Grad School, I started doing dot paintings of all the different colors that I would see. Then I was talking to one of my professors, Laurel Nakadate about how I see these dots and she said, “Why don’t you try googling your symptoms?” And that’s when I learned about Visual Snow for the first time, about 3 or 4 years ago. It had never occurred to me to google what I was seeing until that moment. From that point in time onward, I’ve been creating work on how I see. I’ve dabbled in video installations alongside my painting relating to visual snow.

I’m really happy that I have visual snow –– if I didn't have visual snow, I honestly don’t think I’d be an artist.

That’s so fascinating. What an interesting way to see the world and what a wonderful way to share that via your art. You’ve only known about your Visual Snow for a few years?

Yeah, I only learned that I had it in 2016. I made my first dot paintings before I even knew I had visual snow or that the diagnosis existed.

The Visual Snow Initiative was kind enough to sponsor this studio visit. (Read more about the initiative here! www.visualsnowinitiative.org.)
You’ve shared that this is an organization that’s very important to you. Could you tell us a little bit about their work and how it’s impacted you?

I think it’s a wonderful organization because a lot of people who have it don’t know what it is or know of anyone else with it. Visual Snow Initiative (VSI) is a wonderful tool to link people with VS. The work that Dr. Goadsby does [a prominent visual snow researcher] and many of the other researchers, is absolutely amazing.

The VSI, I think it’s outstanding, the work they do, trying to provide answers and raising money. There are so many unknowns for people who have it. I was lucky to develop VS young, I cant imagine how difficult it might be for the people who develop it in their adult life.

A lot of people actually contact me about VS because I hashtag everything Visual Snow related. I even met someone through instagram and she came to my studio for a visit. The whole time we were like, “Whoa, do you see this?” “Yeah I see that.” “Do you see this?!” “No, I see this!!” Truly an insane experience.

That must have been a really interesting experience for you! Let’s talk more about your art and your practice. How do you make your Visual Snow paintings? The dots are so, so incredibly small -- do you have a specific process for that? How do you craft your work?

Toothbrushes.

I mix piles of paint in different colors of the dots I see. I then add a little turpentine to the brush and flick the bristle of the brush with my thumb to create the tiny dots. I add layers, usually dark to light, totaling anywhere from 6 to 8+ color layers.

When I make the paintings, I’m painting, but I’m also actively paying attention to the colors that I’m seeing. I love how the oil paint reacts with photos. And the toothbrush technique is actually something I picked up from printmaking.

You have to use a toothbrush flick of the bristles via thumb, to get the nice, fine dots. I conducted a study of different types of toothbrushes, multiple types of paint… and I find that the softer the bristles, the better the fine splatter which is what I am after.

Of course, we have to ask the most important question. Is there a toothbrush brand you’d like to endorse?

Which one do I have right now…? I have both Oral B and Colgate, but I think my favorite is the Oral B. (Laughs)

How does your own Visual Snow affect you (or not)? Did you ever feel personally anxious about visual snow, especially as an artist? It’s interesting to note that how we individually visually perceive the world could be so different.

In my case, no, I don’t really have any anxiety about it because I’ve had it since I was a kid. I also think maybe my Visual Snow isn’t as intense as other people’s. But I also consider it a gift rather than a curse. It’s unique –– sometimes it sucks, but I do feel blessed to have it.

Whether it affects me or not really just depends on where I am. If there are a lot of things in my visual field, like not a lot of blank walls, it’s not as jarring. I experience prominent after-imaging –– auras around people –– and light sensitivity as well. White rooms and looking at projections in a dark room are really hard, especially when I move my gaze away from a subject. It’s just distracting, but you do kind of get used to it.

Bright colors, like neon blue and yellow, fluorescent pink… are super trippy for me. I deal with it if I’m in an environment like that, but it’s just really jarring sometimes. I also dream with Visual Snow which is kind of cool.

In addition to the body of work related to VS, you do large-scale oil portraits. These are clearly a really important body of work for you. Let’s get into that as well!

Color is an important aspect of my work, and I do have Color Visual Snow, which is one of the types of Visual Snow. It’s kind of hard because it moves [the colored dots], and I also think I may have four cones –– I took a test online one time –– and I wonder if that’s also related to my interest in color.

I pay really close attention to details, a lot of the subjects I paint are my friends. I want the subjects I paint to have eye contact with the viewer as a way of creating a dialogue. I have fun with mixing paint in different ways onto the surface –– whether by brush, palette knife, fingers or spraying turpentine. Some are drippy and splatter-y, some involve thick painting and removing....

It’s been such a pleasure to have you here to discuss all of this. Let’s wrap this up with one more fun question. Who are your biggest artistic inspirations?

Pipilloti Rist and Yayoi Kusama are big inspirations for me. Kusama does a lot with repetition, visually mesmerizing work. I also am interested in how Pipilotti Rist creates an environment for the viewer. Her work provides all the sensational feels. I love how she incorporates sound into her installations –– creates more of a habitat for the works.

For my paintings, I look at a lot of portraits. I look at Jenny Saville and Cecily Brown.

A note about VS from the Visual Snow Initiative:

We hope you’ve enjoyed this special peek into Michelle's creative process and unique vision condition! Even in a virtual age, we encourage all budding collectors to take the time to connect with the artists you love directly.

We want to remind you of our awesome artist messaging feature directly on the Art in Res site––reach out now and foster that creative energy! Have more questions for Michelle on her art and practice? Follow up with her directly via our messenger. We know she’ll be thrilled to answer any questions you might have. Ask about a specific painting or about her specific process in general––either approach works!