Melinda English

ARTIST?S STATEMENT AND PHILOSOPHY OF ART

In art and dreams you proceed with abandon, seeking the symbols, emotion and story. When using this method of selecting subject matter for my paintings, exploration of the emotional dream-like tensions engage my mind with images that subtly mix fact with illusion through the power of suggestion. Mine are that of subtle yet complex narratives I sometimes imagine in daydreaming that presents a need to push at an innately humanistic perspective to produce works, and to seek out artistic expressions that depicts the human condition, celebration, human suffering, and the everyday joys and concerns we all share. After all, in our dreams all the people and objects are YOU in the dream expressing refl

ABOUT THE ARTIST

MELINDA ENGLISH

Born in New Orleans into an Acadian French family, Melinda has experienced a uniquely rich culture of the South. She holds a strong Catholic heritage which creates a love for religious art from an early age. Her bachelor degree background is in Cultural Anthropology and Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University. Ever-learning how culture and art are related, she began to experiment with narrative and interpretive portraiture. Landscapes and still life are also among her portfolio of paintings, and photography.

Her education was further pursued at Houston Baptist University, receiving a Master of Liberal Arts, and then the Certificate of Advanced Studies in the Liberal Arts. Encouraged by professors and peers, she continued her advanced studies at Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio graduating in 2010 with a PhD in Arts & Sciences, with a Specialization in Fine Arts & Visual Anthropology. Her career background has been in the importing and selling of period antiques and fine collectibles.

Her method of painting is a true form of Cultural Expressionism with an aim in art to convey the multi-layered meanings, symbolism and metaphoric association that involve themes of human social structures, allowing viewer consciousness to become more heightened. She combines the many cultures experienced firsthand in worldly travels. Many paintings arise from personal photographic images taken over the many years in her quest fo