Horses in Art Magazine - Art for the Horse Lover

Given Free Rein To Create

by Louise Mellon

I have always painted but was shy about showing my work publicly. One day my professor came into the school studio, sat down, put his feet up and asked if I would like his opinion. I said yes, but that it looked like I was going to get it anyway. He said that he thought it was time to come out of the closet and become a painter with a capital P, and devote many hours to producing for shows and galleries.

Rapsody In Horse
Oil Pastel, 30 x 40, by Louise Mellon
Sometimes, all we need is someone we revere to express confidence in us. That nudges us out of our sequestered comfort zones and gives us permission to burst forth with enthusiasm and newfound determination to give free rein to our core creativity. I left school that day a changed person.

I have always thought of myself as an illustrator telling a story and not a fine artist. I like to take a portion of a common object, enlarge it and infuse it with bright colors. Many times, viewers are not sure what they are looking at until they step back and have an ah ha! moment of recognition.

I specialize in producing large works with the vivid colors and the tangible textures of oil pastels. As the oil pastels never dry, they are difficult to work with and handle, and must be framed with a spacer and Plexiglas; however, I am smitten with the end results of the medium and will put up with the inconveniences, including the fact that no matter how careful I am in handling the pieces, most of my clothes are decorated with unintended streaks of color!

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