Posts by Melani
The Image Appears in This Work-In-Progress, “Wild Horses”
This is the third phase in creating my painting: applying ink to the paint spatter to define the image. It’s a tense, but satisfying part of the process. The problem is ink splats happen! And you never know when. But there’s still a ways to go before this painting is finished. See the evolution of…
Read MorePreliminary Sketches for the Painting, “Wild Horses”
These pencil drafts (see the second image below) are the second phase in the creation of my paintings. (You can see the paint spatter in the first phase here.) They’re messy and loose and far from refined. But the looser they are, the more they keep the spirit of the initial inspiration for the painting.…
Read MoreThe Paint Spatter That Inspired “Wild Horses”
Each one of my paintings starts with a spatter of paint. Pictured above is the spatter that inspired the painting, “Wild Horses”. I can always feel an excitement when I have a paint spatter that holds an image that I have yet to uncover. What can you see in this spatter? See the evolution…
Read MoreThe Art of the Flat Lay
What is a flatlay? A flat lay is a photo of an assortment of items laid on a flat surface (thus, flat lay). The photo is most often taken from directly above the items. The surface serves as the background to the photo. The objects usually describe a theme, like “a day at the…
Read MoreUsing a Flat Lay to Explore the “Wild Horses” Painting
Have you noticed all the different ways that horses touch our lives? When I started working on my “Wild Horses” painting, I kept running into associations with horses. But I got worried when I started putting together a flat lay image to expand my ideas for the painting. I thought I didn’t own anything…
Read MoreJust In: A Solo Show!
I’m so excited! I met with Tyler White, the manager at Pause Coffee in Fair Oaks, CA and he has invited me to collaborate with them and put on a solo show of my artwork. This is incredible because it will allow you to see the original pieces in person, which is a completely…
Read MoreEveryone Loves a Good Race
A happy accident: posting about my newest painting of horses and the 2nd of the Triple Crown horse races, the Preakness Stakes 2018, happening this weekend. So, I couldn’t resist illustrating one of the favorites to win, “Bravazo“. His trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, has won with four horses before this. But really, it’s the…
Read MoreA Sneak Peek of New Horse Painting
It’s time for a sneak peek just for you of my newest painting. You can watch the progress of this piece from random paint spatter through the appearance of the images and on through to the finished painting, in the coming posts on this blog. This subject matter, a herd of wild horses running, has…
Read MoreHappy Mother’s Day!
Happy Mother’s Day! In developing a pen and ink portrayal of Sacagawea, one famous mother, I created a lot of “good try’s” (those images that didn’t make the grade). First off, I was working from my imagination, because there are no photos of Sacagawea. There is a painting of her with Lewis and Clark,…
Read MoreArt vs. Artist
Have you seen the “Art vs. Artist” posts on Instagram? The post is a grid of 9 images, with a picture of the artist in the center surrounded by images of her artwork. I thought they look so great and give such a nice snapshot of the artist’s style and direction. So, here’s mine.…
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