‘The world is my studio.’

Courtesy Photos Noel Skiba has won many awards for her paintings. She paints constantly, sometimes 14 or more hours per day. Above is Skiba with the triptych she painted that hangs in the Michigan House of Representatives in Lansing.

This fourth-generation painter found her niche as a tiny tot, and has been joyfully brightening up the canvas for many decades now.

The talented, award-winning artist Noel Skiba will be featured at the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan in a solo exhibit, “Eclectic Retrospective,” opening on Saturday, Jan. 11.

“It’s a broad retrospective story of an artist’s life,” she said. “It’s going to speak to my life as an artist and my history… It’s a very colorful show.”

Her mother is Joy Anne Skiba of Alpena, who taught art classes for college and junior high. She watched her mom paint and started in her footsteps at age 2.

“I was right there in her classroom,” Noel Skiba said. “I started very young creating pieces that were quite substantial… I did my first show at age 12. I’ve been doing it a long time.”

Skiba poses by her painting that won first place in the 2016 Mackinac Island Lilac Festival poster contest. She also won in 2010, 2013, and 2015.

Skiba has studios in Alpena, Mackinac Island, Grand Rapids and the Florida Keys.

“I travel and I paint live at events everywhere,” she said. “I’ve painted at differnt locations worldwide. … The world is my studio.”

In addition to her studio locations, she has traveled all over to paint at events in places such as the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Annapolis, California, Niagara Falls, the Bahamas and more.

She creates her paintings near and even in water, which is a very important part of her life.

“My main focus in life is the fragility of water and the beauty of the area around it, and protecting it as well as enjoying it,” she said. “A lot of the pieces I’ve created focus on water.”

A recent painting Skiba created in the Florida Keys, called “Sunrise Bahia Honda,” overlooking the famous train bridge into the keys.

She works in acrylics, oils, watercolors and mixed media.

Skiba recently judged the Northeast Michigan Juried Art Exhibit at the museum, and now it’s her turn to showcase her colorful artwork.

“I kind of float between impressionism and realism,” she noted of her unique style, which features bright colors often in a chunky or impasto fashion. She paints mostly with tubes of paint and her hands, and sometimes uses brushes.

The award-winning colorist and impressionistic painter will have a wide variety of her exhuberant, rainbow-hued paintings on display from Jan. 11 to Oct. 4 in the Wilson Gallery.

The Alpena native can’t imagine life without painting.

Skiba paints live at a festival. She paints very quickly and with both hands.

“I’ve really had a wonderful life full of creativity,” Skiba said. “I bring colors with me wherever I go. Whatever it takes, I’m happy to create.”

If she doesn’t have immediate access to art supplies, Skiba even uses her finger to “paint” on her phone.

“I’m usually doing more than one thing at a time, and I paint fast,” said Skiba, who said she is biambidextrous, which means she can do multiple tasks at once with both hands. She paints with one hand while recording video of herself with the other.

“I have a lot of energy,” Skiba explained. “I paint upwards of 14 hours a day on most days. I’m a true artist.”

She does it because she loves it, and feels like it is her God-given gift to share with others.

Skiba holds the painting “Out of the Gate,” that she painted live at the Kentucky Derby and sold to a very grateful woman with tears in her eyes.

“I believe that God draws me in,” she explained. “He gave me a gift, and he touches me while I’m working. That energy flows through me onto the canvas. I’m just so blessed to be a part of that.”

Skiba sees the fruits of her labor on the faces of those who are touched by her work.

“It’s a God thing,” she added. “Something just takes over. I just can’t help it. It flows out of me.”

Once she gets going, she can hardly stop herself.

“I’m kind of like an addict,” she said with a laugh. “I just paint whatever I feel like. I went to Cuba and I literally was painting nonstop.”

Skiba takes a selfie in her booth at one of the many festivals she attends annually.

She won the Mackinac Island Lilac Poster competition in 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Her Mackinac Bridge series hangs in the Michigan House of Representatives.

She was commissioned to paint during President Gerald Ford’s funeral procession in Grand Rapids in 2007, at which she painted 36 paintings. Her work is in Ford Presidential Museum and the National Archives.

“I was in shock,” she said. “Every time I say that, it gives me goosebumps. I am greatly honored.”

She paints live at the Kentucky Derby. One of her Kentucky Derby paintings, “Out of the Gate,” went missing, then mysteriously reappeared in her studio on Mackinac Island. When the right person saw it, she knew it was meant for her.

“This woman broke down when I delivered this painting to her,” Skiba said, which reaffirmed her belief that God is touching people through her work.

Skiba has participated in Grand Rapids’ Art Prize with “Connections,” a large mural of bridges “which connect the land with the water,” she said.

She paints while standing in the ocean in Key West. She uses her bike as an easel on Mackinac Island.

She also has done mission and art experience teaching work in Trinidad, Cuba, Bahamas, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Europe and more. She has worked with many churches locally and globally, teaching and painting live to music.

She has been commissioned to do artwork for Sears, Meijer, and the American Red Cross.

She paints live at Howard Livingston concerts and with other musicians as well.

Her paintings are featured in many hotels and businesses, including Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Key West, Chippewa Hotel, Lilac Tree and Cottage Inn on Mackinac Island, Ferris State University, Besser Co. and the Besser Museum. Her work has been featured in publications including Waldorf Astoria Magazine, Keys Culture Magazine (cover), and Key Noter (cover art). Her awards include four-time Mackinac Island Lilac Festival Poster, and two-time Pigeon Key Poster awards, first place painting, “Schooners Wharf” at Key West Show, and Celebration on the Grand Poster in Grand Rapids.

Her son, Paul William Skiba Van Ess, is continuing the family tradition as a fifth-generation artist. He lives in Grand Rapids.

Skiba will host a full day of art experiences on Jan. 11. Join her for an Art Experience Workshop from 1 to 3 p.m., for $75 per person, which includes all supplies. Students will be moving about the museum inside and out to sketch and paint, so dress appropriately. All finished artwork will be on display during the exhibit opening. A $10 discount will be given for each student who donates a pot of soup or fresh homemade bread for the Soups On! Opening Exhibit Reception from 4 to 6 p.m. This reception will feature a variety of homemade soups, breads, cheeses, crackers and fruit. The public is invited to attend this free reception.

Skiba attended Alpena Community College before going on to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Kendall College of Art and Design. She also attended Aquinas College, majoring in illustration, with a minor in business. She holds degrees in Fine Arts, Science and Business.

For more about Skiba, visit www.noelskiba.com.

For those interested in taking Skiba’s class, she says: “I’m not telling you what to paint. I’m teaching you to breathe.”

: Courtesy Photos Noel Skiba has won many awards for her paintings. She paints constantly, sometimes 14 or more hours per day. Above is Skiba with the triptych she painted that hangs in the Michigan House of Representatives in Lansing.

: Skiba poses by her painting that won first place in the 2016 Mackinac Island Lilac Festival poster contest. She also won in 2010, 2013, and 2015.

: A recent painting Skiba created in the Florida Keys, called “Sunrise Bahia Honda,” overlooking the famous train bridge into the keys.

: Skiba paints live at a festival. She paints very quickly and with both hands.

: Skiba holds the painting “Out of the Gate,” that she painted live at the Kentucky Derby and sold to a very grateful woman with tears in her eyes.