Melissa Mahoney


MELISSA MAHONEY
Some of my earliest memories are of my mother, seated at our kitchen table, sketching or drawing pen-and-ink still lifes. My grandparents too were artists, who favored watercolors, oil paint and woodblock printing. Influenced by these surroundings, I turned naturally to drawing and painting as familiar outlets to express feelings and to document my life experiences. I continued to draw and paint through school, and went on to earn a BFA at the University of Georgia. I also completed graduate work in Cortona, Italy, where I studied calligraphy and art history. When I create my art, it’s important to see evidence of the human hand in its creation. While I’ve worked in oil pastels, watercolor pencils, encaustic, oil and acrylic paints, my current work is in mixed media, applying paint and modeling paste with brushes, trowels – or even my bare hands. My studio is based in Santa Barbara, California, where I live and work. For More information, please view Melissa's website at mahoneyartwork.com. ABOUT MY WORK: Vortices draw into their powerful currents all that surround them. My series of paintings is inspired by this sense of energy. A thought or idea sparks a creation that starts the transfer to a two-dimensional surface. Each piece is intended to convey a sense of motion and an energy that captures, and then transcends, the particular subject matter. Energy in its raw form, feeding the canvas with paint and modeling paste, utilizing color with shades of dark and light. In turn, the completed work expresses this dynamic force, inviting the viewer to receive the energy if they choose to. Enso Some of these vortices are studies of an Enso, the Japanese symbol representing strength, enlightenment and the void. The shape is the outline of a circle. The paintings convey balance of composition through asymmetry and irregularity. Raw linen / canvas / modeling paste The materials range from traditional canvas and paint to raw linen, modeling paste and foil leaf. I like the contrast of rough textures and distressed layers with refined, smooth textures, like foil leaf and metallic enamel. These raw linen paintings along with the neutral color palettes reflect a Belgium Industrial style.

MM01: Suede Shimmer	MM02: Contiguous Enso	MM03: Silver Shimmer	MM04: Silver Foil Enso


MM05: Total Shimmer	MM06: Ying Yang	MM08: Brass Shimmer	MM09: Calming Black Enso


MM10: Prevailing	MM11: Resounding	MM12: Reflective	MM13: Splash Enso


MM14: Urban Enso	MM15: Silver	MM16: Recurrent Enso	MM17: Apogee Sphere


MM18: Spiraling	MM19: Cycling	MM20: Blue Surge	MM21: Retreating


MM22: Black Enso	MM23: Apogee Enso	MM24: Reviving	MM25: Tide Pools


MM26: Total Enso	MM27: Between	MM28: Orbital Nest	MM29: Enso Silver 2


MM30: Silver Foil Enso	MM31: Breath	MM32: Unfettered	MM33: Pyrole Crimson


MM34: Layered Enso	MM35: Rising	MM36: Viral	MM37: Core


MM38: Unquenchable	MM39: Incipient	MM40: Reciprocal	MM41: Unrequited


MM42: Vital	MM43: Elusive	MM44: Opaline	MM45: Green Enso


MM46: White Enso	MM48: Tidal Enso

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MELISSA MAHONEY