I grew up in Utah surrounded by natural beauty. My great grandfather was a forest ranger, and my grandparents owned a cabin that as a youngster we would go to every weekend. The mountains and nature were my home, and I loved every minute I spent exploring and discovering the natural world. I think this is why I feel so at home painting Plein Air. I love painting nature’s palette, and nature’s beauty is what I set out to capture on the canvas. I paint impressionistic paintings, to show others what I see and feel. I want the viewer to be an active participant, to fill in the blanks. Painting is a ongoing passion of mine, one can always find me in my studio painting, or painting in Plein Air.
Coming from another place entirely is my mixed media artwork, which is the manifestation of my internal world. That of emotions, memories and dreams. Found objects encountered in my travels or daily life are incorporated into many of my paintings, adding a deeply personal dynamic element. The abstract work is the perfect counterbalance to her landscape paintings, one is painting what she sees, the other a creative process that is all about color, texture and what is visually appealing to her.
Melanie’s Bio:
Melanie’s art career began in college, and has included post-graduate study at Palos Verdes Art Center (2003-2006), Otis Art College (2006) and the Brentwood Art Center (2001 to 2003, 2007 to present.
Workshops Attended
Melanie has traveled to paint with Mario Murkovich, (Croatia 2006) Ada Brown (France 2010), Robert Burridge, Hope Town, Bahamas (2011) Leslie Saeta, Pasadena (2010), Scott Christensen, Victor Idaho (2011), Deborah Paris online classes (2010)
Steve Songer, Spring City Utah (2011), Kevin Macpherson, Sedona, AZ (2011). Currently enrolled as a student of Kevin
Macpherson's Pro D*J mentoring online program (2012-2013).
Group Shows:
Brentwood Student Show 2009
Brentwood Student Show 2010
Park City Local Supporting Local Art Show 2010
Brentwood Travel Abroad Art Show 2011
Schomburg Gallery -Postcards, Memories & Quiet Spaces 2010
Schomburg Gallery – Holiday Open Studio Stroll 2011
Publications:
Featured in Deer Valley’s Best ” Artist to Watch”
Melanie grew up in Utah, moved to California in 1983. She and her family divide their time between Southern California and Utah.
