Flat Lays – Melani Grube Art

Winter’s Icy Breath: the Flat Lay Inspiration

By Melani | January 18, 2019 |

A detail from The flat lay assemblage inspired by the painting, "Winter's Icy Breath", by Melani Grube. From the Muses series. The flat lay includes winter plant sketches, metal and black metallic bracelets, a white heart-shaped seashell, a jewelled pin, crystals, and photos of deer, a nesting bird, snowy landscapes, a siberian husky, and an eagle.

What do you think of when you think of winter? These creatures came to mind for me. These colors crept in and found a home in my painting. And crisp, crystalline textures crunched about. Keep watching to see this piece develop. See the next post in the process here or start at the beginning…

The Art of the Flat Lay

By Melani | June 1, 2018 |

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…

Using a Flat Lay to Explore the “Wild Horses” Painting

By Melani | June 1, 2018 |

A detail from the flat lay exploration of associations we have with horses, through an assortment of objects: a horse shoe of good luck, the glove of English-style riding, the wildly beautiful horse on the book cover, the bow-tie of the proper gentry riding class, the red and white lariat, the silver cowboy, an arrowhead pointing to the Native American riding tradition, the archer-horse-man of the horoscope sign Sagittarius, and a mini celluloid pencil for scoring horse shows.

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…

Creative Exploration of the Woman in the Red Beret

By Melani | April 5, 2018 |

Detail from the flat lay for The Woman in the Red Raspberry Beret painting. Possessions shown include French poetry book, lipstick, iphone earbuds, eyebrow shade kit, sketchbook, pen, wrist bangles.

Do you like flat lays? I love using flat lays as part of my art process. They help me throughout the process, before I start, during the creation of, and after I’ve finished the painting. (I also love flat lays for flat lays’ sake.) This flat lay told me so much about the personality…

A Big Secret That Will Help You Create a Website You’ll Love

By Melani | December 2, 2017 |

Want to build a website you’ll love? With all the details and possibilities, where do you start? I asked myself, “What am I all about? How will this site reflect what I’m about?” At first, the technology and practicalities of building the site loomed large and in the way of the design. But I…

Journey of Hope 2017: Color Study Flatlay

By Melani | September 26, 2017 |

Beading in lavenders, pinks and blues, silver floral broaches and a burnished gold locket with floral detail.

As I went to put together the color study flat lay for this painting (for the Journey of Hope Art Exhibit 2017), I couldn’t come up with anything to use. I kept drawing a blank. What did I have that was the appropriate colors? I soon realized that I wanted the objects to not just…

Color Inspiration for “Afternoon, Revisited”

By Melani | August 16, 2017 |

Color, wondrous color. I love transparent colors, but then, I also love the sheen of satin ribbon that rich, opaque color delivers. And oh, the metallics! In this flat lay photo, you can see some of the colors swirling in my life right now and that have been reflected in my current work,…