As a young child, Melody worked in pencil and pastels, eventually practicing oils as a youngster. In her teens and early adult years watercolor became her favored of mediums. She stepped away from her artistic gift in her mid twenties, only to pick it up again with a deep passion in her later adult years.
Making the move west, after living in the southeast coast and mountains most of her life, ignited a passion to begin her painting career full time as a Fine Artist. Melody spent several years traveling the west in her first vintage tin-can RV known as ‘The Mustang Mansion’ studying and exploring the wests wild mustang, wildlife and rangeland she vividly captures giving her a deep realistic yet artistic approach in her work. She continues that journey in her 2nd vintage tin-can inspired by her two former mustangs, ‘Sierra Cancion and Sierra Rosa’. She has spent years on and off visiting public range lands through numerous states across the west to living with large herds of wild horses on a 5500 acre sanctuary. She has owned her own adopted wild and domestic horses learning social and herd behavior up close and personal, continuing to learn the lessons of the horse and wildlife as she lived ‘wild’ on an expansive rugged ranch in northern New Mexico with her horses, dogs and cats. Her connection to the wild mustang, the rangeland and other wildlife is evident in her collection of wild horse, equine, landscape and wildlife works.
Melody now calls Westcliffe, Colorado her home in the high desert of southern Colorado. The views of the Sangre de Cristo’s inspire the outdoor beauty from her studio. When she is not in the studio painting, Melody also writes music, playing guitar and performing music and riding her horses. Melody has a great appreciation for the outdoors and nature, and you can find her in the outdoors of ranch living. Living the rugged ranch life affords great opportunity to study the local wildlife and flora year round adding to the process of creativity. Melody continues on occasion to travel and photograph the west and its wild, enriching her study and using her photographs to recreate her experiences on canvas.
