Marchant d'Art
My Bio
Art is my life. I have an A.A., a B.A., and an M.A. in Art with a Ph.D. in Education. (I'm "the kind of Doctor that doesn't do you any good," as my son once told his friend.)
I did research for my Master's degree while living in Florence and studying Etruscan, Renaissance and Medieval Art. I taught at the College/University level from 1988 to 2010, mostly Art History and drawing. I paint in acrylic, oil, and watercolor and draw in graphite and colored pencil primarily. Predictably, many of my subjects are Art Historical.
I paint Icons, both Greek and Russian. I have always been drawn to the Madonna and Child - I remember being about nine years old looking at an encyclopedia and thinking to myself, "This is the Madonna. This is Art. This is what I will do when I grow up." And I did. After 4 arduous years earning my Ph.D., I had a dream that instructed me to "paint icons," specifically the Madonna in Santa Maria Nova in Rome. This is a very early 5-7th Century, Roman Icon. I have painted her 5 or 6 times and I just don't seem to tire of either painting or drawing her.
When I first began painting Icons I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to change them so I made the Madonna a bit prettier, the Child a bit less old. Later I attended the Saint John of Damascus Icon Painting Academy and the Christ Pantocrator I completed there is one of my best and very closely resembled the pattern we were given to copy. Now, when someone asks me: "But you don't want to paint a slavish copy, do you?" I fervently answer, "YES! Yes, I do!" It seems that in spite of my best intentions my own style sometimes creeps into my Icon paintings. I have made peace with this flaw in my art by resigning myself to including, inadvertently, a "human" element.
Today's Icon painters design completely new works based on the lives of the Saints, with the use of patterns that have been handed down for at least 1,500 years. I have completed a very early Christ Pantocrator patterned on the original in the Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai. He is so majestic and mystical (and beautiful). I love doing this! Painting Icons makes me happy.
I married in 2009, after 30 years of being single, and my husband was raised Russian Orthodox. Him passing his father's personal Icon to his own son was an important part of our wedding ceremony. Icons have a power all their own. My husband and I were drawn together partly because of my Icon paintings. In November 2009, he was photographed with my Icons for an interview by the Los Angeles Times.
Ten years ago, as an In-Your-Face protest I began painting MALE nudes. Having been in the field of Art for some 50 years by then, I had drawn and painted my share of nudes.
Nearly all nude models are female -- did I even need to remark on that fact?
I had grown bored witnessing only representations of the nude female body so in a fit of pique and perhaps a small rebellion and personal effort seeking equity, I painted a series of males without clothing. Nude males in Big Sir, nude males in the studio, on the patio, and nude males in my LIVING ROOM! It didn't occur to me that there was no market for these paintings. I also paint religious pictures and there's no market for those either, so lack of sales was not a problem for me.
I've always thought that art painted for the purpose of selling it couldn't be inspired. (This isn't necessarily true, of course.)
When my husband saw this particular body of work he was amazed - he thought the nudes were great. When we moved to the Bay Area he suggested that my first focus should be my nudes -- so that is what I'm doing. It's a dirty job. . .
I occasionally accept commissions for portraits produced in my studio (which doubles as our living room). Art, literally, is my life.
I did research for my Master's degree while living in Florence and studying Etruscan, Renaissance and Medieval Art. I taught at the College/University level from 1988 to 2010, mostly Art History and drawing. I paint in acrylic, oil, and watercolor and draw in graphite and colored pencil primarily. Predictably, many of my subjects are Art Historical.
I paint Icons, both Greek and Russian. I have always been drawn to the Madonna and Child - I remember being about nine years old looking at an encyclopedia and thinking to myself, "This is the Madonna. This is Art. This is what I will do when I grow up." And I did. After 4 arduous years earning my Ph.D., I had a dream that instructed me to "paint icons," specifically the Madonna in Santa Maria Nova in Rome. This is a very early 5-7th Century, Roman Icon. I have painted her 5 or 6 times and I just don't seem to tire of either painting or drawing her.
When I first began painting Icons I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to change them so I made the Madonna a bit prettier, the Child a bit less old. Later I attended the Saint John of Damascus Icon Painting Academy and the Christ Pantocrator I completed there is one of my best and very closely resembled the pattern we were given to copy. Now, when someone asks me: "But you don't want to paint a slavish copy, do you?" I fervently answer, "YES! Yes, I do!" It seems that in spite of my best intentions my own style sometimes creeps into my Icon paintings. I have made peace with this flaw in my art by resigning myself to including, inadvertently, a "human" element.
Today's Icon painters design completely new works based on the lives of the Saints, with the use of patterns that have been handed down for at least 1,500 years. I have completed a very early Christ Pantocrator patterned on the original in the Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai. He is so majestic and mystical (and beautiful). I love doing this! Painting Icons makes me happy.
I married in 2009, after 30 years of being single, and my husband was raised Russian Orthodox. Him passing his father's personal Icon to his own son was an important part of our wedding ceremony. Icons have a power all their own. My husband and I were drawn together partly because of my Icon paintings. In November 2009, he was photographed with my Icons for an interview by the Los Angeles Times.
Ten years ago, as an In-Your-Face protest I began painting MALE nudes. Having been in the field of Art for some 50 years by then, I had drawn and painted my share of nudes.
Nearly all nude models are female -- did I even need to remark on that fact?
I had grown bored witnessing only representations of the nude female body so in a fit of pique and perhaps a small rebellion and personal effort seeking equity, I painted a series of males without clothing. Nude males in Big Sir, nude males in the studio, on the patio, and nude males in my LIVING ROOM! It didn't occur to me that there was no market for these paintings. I also paint religious pictures and there's no market for those either, so lack of sales was not a problem for me.
I've always thought that art painted for the purpose of selling it couldn't be inspired. (This isn't necessarily true, of course.)
When my husband saw this particular body of work he was amazed - he thought the nudes were great. When we moved to the Bay Area he suggested that my first focus should be my nudes -- so that is what I'm doing. It's a dirty job. . .
I occasionally accept commissions for portraits produced in my studio (which doubles as our living room). Art, literally, is my life.
Copyright © 2010 Melanie Marchant Meschery. All rights reserved.
