Melanie is an expressionist painter. She experiences life and the world in an amplified way. She feels deeply and expresses strongly. She doesn’t just see things around her, she feels them! From the stillness of the rainforest to bright sunshine contrasted with deep shadows on desert mountains, playful wildlife, skies filled with clouds, and all the people around her, Melanie is touched and changed.
Her paintings are saturated with these experiences expressing joyful celebration, peaceful tranquility, bright love and hope using strong color and playful ideas. Her media varies, but the heart of what she communicate does not.
In 2001 Melanie was left with post-infectious chronic illnesses taking away the creative physical activities she loved. This difficult and challenging change led to a wonderful discovery of her creative self through painting. Her visual art journey began with watercolor and she still loves the exciting dance between water and paint. Every watercolor painting is an adventure.
In the past 37 years, Melanie has lived in the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and the Southwest. You will see influences of each as her portfolio continues to expand.
She learned basics of drawing, composition and color theory in college art classes, but is largely self-taught. She has developed as an artist in a variety of ways including, an in-person 3 day workshop with Ron Ranson (renown watercolorist) at his home studio, online resources, books, and lots of exploration and practice! She began selling her artwork in 2005, and became a professional artist in 2018, being represented by multiple galleries in Hawaii. Melanie currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.
