Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Renee.
Melissa, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I began my career in the beauty industry and consider it my first love. Not only have I worked behind the chair as a color specialist, I educated for a major hair color company throughout the US as well. Most recently I worked as a National Sales Manager for a startup beauty company where I was given creative freedom to help develop the company logo, color and packaging choices, and new product development. Eleven months after launching our first product, it won the Behind The Chair Stylist Choice Award for Favorite New Styling Product. I have a business side to me as well as a creative side. On the DISC personality profile I am dominant / conscientious with a core of creativity. I refer to myself as a California-born artist with roots in the south. Growing up between two worlds, I was shaped by country living, and sunny days spent at the beach in Southern California. The ocean captivated my heart, inspiring the name fiery for deep blue. My love of the water is expressed in my ocean resin paintings on wood panels. Although resin seascapes make up a large portion of the work I do, I also love to work with other mediums such as watercolor, oil, and acrylic. Creating contemporary pieces with the addition of glitter, metallic, and a bold color palette provides a nice contrast to my serene pieces. I began formal training in 2014 at the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Although I had been working towards an art career, it wasn’t until after the tragic loss of my younger sister in 2016 that I began to really focus on my art. Since then, I taught myself how to work with resin and fell in love with it.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My primary media is resin on museum grade wood panels. The glossy finish of resin is the perfect medium to capture reflective properties. I begin my process by priming a wood panel then using spray paint, I mark out the flow I want to emphasize onto the board. The base color is important since it helps to support the vibrancy of the colored pigments that I choose to mix in with the resin. Working with a two-part epoxy resin, I mix various inks, pastes, micas, and powdered pigments in. The varying weights of the pigments interact differently causing some to sink to the bottom and others to float to the top. A torch and heat gun are used to manipulate and move the resin around the board. Since resin begins to harden as soon as it’s introduced to heat, I work quickly to manipulate the resin by looking for balance through color and form. Each piece requires multiple layers of resin to achieve depth and dimension; therefore, it can take up to several weeks to complete a piece. What I love the most about working with resin is its unpredictability. Resin has a mind of its own and being able to manipulate it into something beautiful excites me. I am fueled by a sense of freedom I feel when I’m at the beach. The smell of salty air, seagulls flying overhead, and the waves rolling onto the shore all capture my heart. It is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote, “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air” that guide my artistic expression.
How can artists connect with other artists?
I love connecting with other artists and learning about what inspires their creativity. I reach out to other artists on social media and compliment their work and welcome others to reach out to me. Art Walks are a great place to meet other artists too.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I can be found each month at the Laguna Beach First Thursday’a Artwalk. I am currently represented by Hugo Rivera Gallery, Five 3 Gallery, and LagunaArt.com Gallery in Laguna Beach, and Salon Platinum in Aliso Viejo. I love to donate art to charitable organizations and have worked with UALR’s Suicide Prevention, The Beyond Project in Redmond, WA, Our House, and Women’s Own Worth (W.O.W) in Little Rock, AR. W.O.W. is a non-profit in Arkansas that helps families like mine, impacted by domestic violence. In 2019, I was selected as one of 130 artists out of over 600 applicants to present my work at The Other Art Fair in LA and was juried into the Beverly Hills Art Show in May 2019. Most recently, I was juried into the American Institute of Architects 10th Annual Art Walk June 19th where I received an Honor Award. Currently, I am showing in a group exhibition June 29th-August 4th in Santa Ana at Showcase Gallery and Bear Street Gallery, and the Spectrum Gestalt 6 at the bG Gallery in Santa Monica, CA June 15-July 5, 2019. My work has been published in Arkansas Life Magazine 2016 and is currently featured in the Special 48th Anniversary edition of Southwest Art Magazine May 2019. My work is cleared for art rentals and sales for the entertainment industry and I have partnered with a Los Angeles based online gallery specifically for the film, print, and media industry. Private viewings are a great way to experience how my pieces work in your personal space. During that time, we can also explore custom pieces that can be created and tailored to your specific color palette. My work is available for viewing and purchase through my website: fieryfordeepblue.com.
Contact Info:
- Address: Irvine, CA
- Website: https://www.fieryfordeepblue.com/
- Phone: 512-701-4631
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fieryfordeepblue
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fieryfordeepblue/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/fieryfordeepblu
Image Credit:
Melissa Renee
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