Marchant d'Art
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What is Marchant d'Art all about?
Melanie Marchant Meschery
I was brought into a direct confrontation with my ethics and personal values when asked by my web-mistress to write a short statement on "What is the Purpose of Your Web Page?" I suppose the purpose is to introduce my art to a wide public and to try to make money from it. YUCK! Money! Filthy Lucre! Am I a prostitute? Am I prostituting my modest artistic gifts?
I have always considered art made for profit as "commercial" art - with all of the negative connotations that accrue thereunto - cheap, unfeeling, soul-less.
My husband, a poet, recently remarked on one of our walks, "I think artists SHOULD be able to make money from their art!" Because I respect him absolutely, I have given this remark much thought. I am not yet comfortable with the idea of making money from my art. I resist commissions because they aren't "inspired."
None of my works displayed on this web site were produced for "sale". They were all produced for the sake of creating something beautiful. Much of the pencil work was done as a self-challenge - I wanted to see if I could render beauty with a sharply restricted number of colors, five or less. Others caught my eye and I fell in love with a line, a colour or a passage of negative space.
Several of the works were psychological in origin - the Aphrodite of Melos, the Dying Niobid, Apollo - even though I realized that particular aspect of the work only after they were finished. My inspiration for nearly all of the ancient works came to me during a heavy semester while teaching Ancient Art at the local University.
The students seemed to lack enthusiasm for the ancient works I was showing - we obviously weren't seeing the same things - so I decided to paint the ancient works "as if restored". I speculated that "restoration" might make ancient art work more accessible to the students who were only seeing battered, broken sculpture, chipped, flaky, stained paint, or crusty areas of fresco glued painstakingly back together by archaeologists.
Making ancient art look fresh again, thereby allowing my students to see what it might have looked like 3,500, 9,000 or even 25,000 years ago, was my goal. I think my project was mostly successful.
I have always considered art made for profit as "commercial" art - with all of the negative connotations that accrue thereunto - cheap, unfeeling, soul-less.
My husband, a poet, recently remarked on one of our walks, "I think artists SHOULD be able to make money from their art!" Because I respect him absolutely, I have given this remark much thought. I am not yet comfortable with the idea of making money from my art. I resist commissions because they aren't "inspired."
None of my works displayed on this web site were produced for "sale". They were all produced for the sake of creating something beautiful. Much of the pencil work was done as a self-challenge - I wanted to see if I could render beauty with a sharply restricted number of colors, five or less. Others caught my eye and I fell in love with a line, a colour or a passage of negative space.
Several of the works were psychological in origin - the Aphrodite of Melos, the Dying Niobid, Apollo - even though I realized that particular aspect of the work only after they were finished. My inspiration for nearly all of the ancient works came to me during a heavy semester while teaching Ancient Art at the local University.
The students seemed to lack enthusiasm for the ancient works I was showing - we obviously weren't seeing the same things - so I decided to paint the ancient works "as if restored". I speculated that "restoration" might make ancient art work more accessible to the students who were only seeing battered, broken sculpture, chipped, flaky, stained paint, or crusty areas of fresco glued painstakingly back together by archaeologists.
Making ancient art look fresh again, thereby allowing my students to see what it might have looked like 3,500, 9,000 or even 25,000 years ago, was my goal. I think my project was mostly successful.
The Madonna of Santa Maria Nova de Urbe, in Rome, is my favorite Icon and the one that came to me in a dream thus beginning my fascination with painting Icons. She is very ancient, and was rendered in encaustic (wax). She dates perhaps as early as the 6th Century. I find both majesty and pathos in her expression and I hope my reproduction conveys these qualities.
The Angel with the Golden Hair is also very old, dating from c.1150, and was done in egg tempera originally. He is beautiful beyond belief. His expression conveys such love and compassion that it catches me by the heart every time I look at him. Painting him is a joy because while painting, I feel enfolded in his love.
The Archangel Gabriel caught my attention with his colorful clothing. He dates from the 12th century. He feels less spiritual to me but I really enjoyed painting the stylized symbols for folds in the clothing he wears.
The Praying Mother of God was originally painted in egg tempera on panel at the beginning of the 12th Century. She was the most difficult Icon to paint because of the details, which took many months of my life to paint. I really like the face of the Christ Child, I think I have caught strength and wisdom in His little face.
My web site is intended to do three things: to educate, (I cannot help myself, I was a teacher!), to bring my art to a wide audience, and make a living from it. I have come to the realization that beyond making art for art's sake, artists have only two choices: to give our art away for free or to sell it. If we give it away, we will always have to work at another job and never have the time necessary to devote to our primary task in life - to be an artist. If we sell our art, we allow ourselves to work in the field we have chosen. An artist must have the right to paint, the poet must have the right to write, and the sculptor must have the right to sculpt.
Artists need more than just the right to create art - in this world battered by bullets and swamped in greed, artists have a mandate to do what we do best: create something beautiful. An artist should not have to apologize for trying to remain a working artist. I am ready to share my modest artistic gifts. I hope you find them inspiring.
Melanie Marchant Meschery
Artists need more than just the right to create art - in this world battered by bullets and swamped in greed, artists have a mandate to do what we do best: create something beautiful. An artist should not have to apologize for trying to remain a working artist. I am ready to share my modest artistic gifts. I hope you find them inspiring.
Melanie Marchant Meschery
Copyright © 2010 Melanie Marchant Meschery. All rights reserved.
