BIO
Melissa, a Cheshire based artist, creates dynamic and expressive paintings that evoke the complexities, uniqueness and emotional response to our environs. Inspired by our surroundings, both natural and human-made, she employs acrylic and mixed media to explore colour, light, form, texture and visual and physical relationships.
Driven by her desire to create and learn more about the influences of art and design on the environment, Melissa studies Landscape Architecture at Leeds Beckett University where she gained a BA (Hons) Degree and Post Graduate Diploma in the early 1990s. Informed by her many years designing and creating outdoor spaces as a Chartered Landscape Architect, Melissa brings a unique perspective to her art. Her professional background has honed her eye for design and the interplay between the natural and human-made world. In 2016, whilst bringing up her growing family, she decided to focus on her artistic career. Melissa has exhibited in many successful collaborative exhibitions and her work is collected by art enthusiasts worldwide.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Melissa Lewis is a contemporary artist whose work explores the physical environment, life experiences and emotional connections. Through visual representation she aims to emanate an emotional response and a thought-provoking perspective on shared environs. Melissa's paintings translate her expertise in design and spatial relationships into vibrant, textural, visually captivating artworks.
Melissa inspiration, creative processes and current goals;
" Our surroundings, both natural and human-made, are a constant source of inspiration to me. I'm intrigued by visual and physical relationships, our environment, spaces, structures, light and colour and the forms, lines and shapes these components create. I continuously see things I want to explore through painting. How I feel about something is one of my main drivers for applying paint to canvas. I have an innate curiosity to look beyond the immediate and don't just want to paint what I see on the surface. As I move through each space/room life presents my emotional response is constantly challenged as it changes and evolves. This inspires me to consider and understand the deeper characteristics as to how and why something is there and what its impact is.
I take a disciplined approach to my work engaging in painting, sketching and doodling regularly. Combining studio practice with outdoor sketching and plain air painting is essential as it enables me to connect with the external environment as I strive to capture the essence of place through my art. When painting from real life isn't an option I work from sketches, memory and static and moving imagery. I need to immerse myself in the subject matter both visually and emotionally in an attempt to translate my observations into compelling compositions.
The creative process develops in an instinctive, intuitive way. It involves lots of experimenting with different paint application and multi media material techniques to explore and unleash new ideas. My work, primarily in acrylic and mixed media, can get very messy when experimenting because I like to play around making contact with the canvas by applying paint and scraping back with my hands and anything else that will help me create the desired effect. Continually reacting to what happens on the canvas whilst pushing the boundaries of my artistic expression. Palette knifes and large brushes enable me to apply many layers of paint in varying thicknesses in an expressive and energetic manner. Paints merge, textures evolve creating interesting effects and qualities which emanate physical entities. Directional brushstrokes reinforce distinctive perspective and composition. Finer brushes and sharp edges are ideal for adding an extra dimension to the painting.
My intension is to create dynamic artworks that draw the viewer into the space depicted on the canvas. Within a painting I aim to translate what I see in real life into artwork which has a dynamic use of perspective and focal balance with a richness in texture and colour wholly full of depth, vibrancy and intrigue".