Melissa
Graves is an imaginative painter who creates vibrant
landscapes filled with glowing trees of jewel-toned
paint drops. Her energetic technique of brushing, rubbing,
splattering, scrubbing, and dabbing richly colored acrylic
paint creates a feeling of spontaneity and freedom.
Graves never works from photographs or sketches, but
from intuition. Exploring the possibilities of color
and contrast, she allows her paintings to take on a
life of their own by applying layer upon layer of paint
until each piece comes alive.
Although
Graves now almost exclusively paints trees, referencing
the Wood River Valley in which she resides, she was
once primarily an abstract color painter. Many of the
techniques she employs are often associated with abstract
color application. Inspired by the work of Robert Rauschenberg,
Graves keeps her pieces playful and vivid while they
synthesize her imagination and the environment in which
she lives. While her work may inspire viewers to go
out into nature and enjoy its splendors, the focus always
remains upon color and its marvelous ability to form
new and peaceful worlds.
