MELANIE FENTON

Painting, Works on Paper

City: Peachland, British Columbia

Website: http://www.melaniefenton.com

Artist Statement: I use oil and acrylic paint to create landscape paintings that convey peace and resilience. My inspiration comes from our natural world, especially the beautiful landscape of British Columbia. Because I aim to create work that captures the emotion of a moment with nature, my style is more impressionistic than realistic. I paint intuitively and often combine soft blending with bold brush strokes and/or palette knife marks.

I have turned to art, and painting in particular, as a quiet escape from the world and my thoughts since I was young. Life is chaotic and unpredictable and can be very cruel. It’s so easy to get caught up in this. But there are little bits of light, of calmness, of peace. I want people to find and actively seek out these moments and sit with them. I feel art is a great way to do this and my hope is that my work provides that for others as it has for me.

Biography: I have turned to art, and painting in particular, as a quiet escape from the world and my thoughts since I was an adolescent and have dabbled in a variety of subject matter over the past 16 years. Because of my love of the outdoors I am especially drawn to landscape painting. I enjoy hiking and running and can often be found snapping photos of nature and clouds to refill my creative tank.

Though I’ve been painting for 16 years, unfortunately my creativity always took the back seat to my other passions and priorities. In 2019, my family experienced an unimaginable trauma and our life changed in many ways as a result. I turned to painting to help heal my heart and cope with change and I found myself completely pulled toward my creative calling. In 2020 I officially launched my art business and have been happily creating and sharing my art with the world since.