The Wonder of Winter

A detail of The word, "Wonder", hand-lettered by Melani Grube.

Your inspiration for the season: Wonder. A word to open up possibilities. When the darkness of the winter lasts longer than the light, it’s easy to feel negative about a lot of things. Especially when it’s cold and you feel stiff. But it’s a clearinghouse moment, a chance to clean your slate and re-evaluate your…

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The Paint Spatter for my Newest Painting

A detail from a preliminary paint spatter used for the newest painting by Melani Grube in her Masters Revisited series: a man and woman, in embrace.

  What do you see in this paint spatter? Would you have found an image like the next one?     This is the image I found in the paint spatter. I was looking for an image inspired by Gustav Klimt’s painting, “The Kiss”, which you can see below.     Watch for the continuing…

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A Sneak Peek of a New Version of a Famous Painting

A detail sneak peek of the newest painting by Melani Grube in her Masters Revisited series: the legs and bare feet of a man and woman, amongst many-colored flowers.

  Something special to share at my Open Studio Party and Solo Show at Pause Coffee House in September. (To see more about this, see below.)   Can you guess which famous painting this piece is based on? It’s okay, I’ve given you a deceptive detail from it. I had to choose an outlying part…

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The Best Links for How To Write an Artist Statement

Artist Melani Grube with one of her favorite art tools, her nib pen.

  Has it happened to you yet? You’ve got your artwork prepared and finished, you’ve met the deadline date for applying and when you go to submit your piece for consideration to an exhibit, the show juror requests an Artist’s Statement from you.   What?! If you’re like me, you haven’t got one that doesn’t…

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Artist 2 Artist: First Meetup

Artists Deidre Trudeau, Charlene Martin, and Melani Grube at the first Artist 2 Artist Meetup at the Blue Line Gallery in Roseville, CA., July 17, 2018.

  If you’re an artist in the greater Sacramento/Roseville area, please come to the next Artist 2 Artist Meetup August 21st, 2018. Here you can see Deidre Trudeau, Charlene Martin and I (Melani Grube) striking a pose at the first gathering of this new artists’ group that happened on July 17th. MaryTess Mayall from the…

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The Image Appears in This Work-In-Progress, “Wild Horses”

A detail from The first application of ink to reveal the image for the painting, "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…

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Preliminary Sketches for the Painting, “Wild Horses”

A detail from A preliminary pencil sketch for the "Wild Horses" painting, of running, wild horses, featuring one looking back.

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.…

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