The Origin of the Paintings

I could begin my story with a letter that was sent, but came back unopened.
Or passing close to death in the jungles of Paraguay. 
Or the experience of waking up to the sound of rain through the open window of a Bavarian castle, 
Or the fateful day when a text message came that simply read, “Emergency.” 

Or I could begin, like every artist does, by telling you that I have been drawing since I was eighteen months old. 

While true, all of those beginnings lean toward the historical.   

I am a fine art painter who trained at RISD. I spend my days exploring light and color and how painting can provide insights and epiphanies into the mystery of what it means to be human.  

When in the presence of a painting, you might find yourself feeling like you're waking up.  Like a morning when I woke, just before dawn, in a castle in Germany and heard the sound of rain and church bells float in through an open window, which overlooked a forest.  You can find yourself feeling as though you were in a totally different era or a different world.

And it’s possible that you might also find yourself feeling inspired.  For me, a stroke on a canvas is a color-infused point of punctuation that stands in contrast to a world that tends toward a utilitarian reductionism.  

Sometimes, making a painting takes more courage than an adventure in a dry tropical forest without a cell phone, such as a remote swath of desert between Paraguay and Bolivia. Perhaps if the velocity of a stroke of paint in one of my works carries through, you might feel bravely inspired to undertake the unexpected and take on your next new adventure, too. 

In these paintings, my hope is that you experience hope itself. The belief that there is meaning in the sometimes cacophonous and always-too-brief existence we have on this planet. If this art resonates with you, may you find a reminder of your own tenacity in the presence of these paintings.  Especially, if you happen to have a fateful day, when one of your messages simply reads, “Emergency.”  I hope it doesn’t happen.  I hope you can live your whole life without that kind of day— a day like a door, where on the other side of it, everything is different.  

But even if you do, my hope is that this work will be with you will find the way through whatever landscape in which you happen to find yourself.   

This work is about discovery, epiphany, and embracing a spirit of adventure through life’s most difficult circumstances— in all the glorious hues of the visible spectrum. May this work bring color, courage, and new horizons to your story, too.  

Melissa Carmon specializes in oil painting, pigment research, and large-scale portraiture. Her works are in private collections internationally as well as corporate collections. She studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) as an undergraduate and holds a degree in Philosophy with honors from Colorado State University where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, an honorary society for exceptional achievement in the arts and sciences. She lives in Boulder, CO, with her husband, Jonathan Myers.

What's your story?

It would be great to hear from you.  I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and reactions to the work, and how it speaks to you.  Drop me a line if you feel so inclined. 

More about the artist

A somewhat more official bio.

From wall-sized mythical creatures to portraits that take on a life of their own, Melissa Carmon (b. 1984) expresses the realities and possibilities of life through the practice of art.

Her work includes large-scale portraits in oil and immersive installation work that transforms spaces. Carmon's shows incorporate interdisciplinary elements, drawing from her studies in philosophy, literature, psychology, and the natural sciences.

A vibrant teacher and leader, Carmon has lead courses, given university lectures, and created workshops to help other artists to achieve greater artistic productivity.  

A multi-painting series of Carmon's work was commissioned by HID Global, and her work has been shown in Denver and Washington, D.C. Her works are held in private collections around the world.

Carmon studied illustration and fine art printmaking as an undergraduate at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and she holds a degree with honors in Philosophy from Colorado State University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, an honors society for exceptional academic achievement in the arts and sciences.

Melissa Carmon currently resides in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, Jonathan Myers.