Melonie Jones: Oil Painter

Artist Bio – Melonie Jones

Mel was born and raised in Michigan. She spent 21 years as a military [USAF] spouse and is the mother of two sons; their family ended up in Cheyenne, WY (F.E. Warren AFB), where she resided for the next 20 years.

She received an A.A. in Fine Arts/Mass Media from Laramie County Community College. She then spent more than 20 years as a writer/graphic designer/photographer first for Corral West Ranchwear catalog production and then for the Public Relations Dept. at LCCC.

Mel retired and moved to Laramie, Wyo., in 2015. She then returned to her first love of art, picked up a brush and began to squish oil paint around a canvas  

When not in her studio, she is an avid Harley-Davidson motorcycle enthusiast; she also enjoys gardening, raising her chickens, and the company of her partner in life, Frank, and their two bulldogs.


ARTIST STATEMENT

It is my hope that the loose daubs of oil paint on the canvas, what I like to refer to as “Wild West Impressionism,” will invite the viewer to use not only eyes, but all the senses. That the scene will evoke memories of the taste of hot dust, the refreshment of cool rivers, the sharp bite of icy snowbanks, experience the heartbreaking loneliness of a sweep of flowers blanketing an empty meadow, or wonder at the grandeur of lofty mountains. I invite the observer to take a voyage into my love of swirling colors – purples, blues, yellows, and reds, layers upon layers, providing a rich tapestry of light, shadows, and movement. Delight in my passion for the textures and hues of our magnificent Rocky Mountain West. Please enjoy!