Painter Melissa Brownell, who uses the name Ashleith for her many creative endeavors, paints scenes from the American West.
“As a collected artist with a defined body of work and story, I’ve been told ‘I have a painter’s eye combined with a storyteller’s mind.’ It is classical instruction with atelier influence that built the innate structure of museum worthy canvas that speaks to my audience,” Ashleith says. “On completion of my MFA studies in Florence, Italy, I came home to an invitational Vorpal Gallery show, New Artists in the West,in 1987, launching my career as a San Francisco artist. Immediate acceptance of multiple private and corporate portrait commissions, including a portrait of George W. Bush and wall murals for California wineries.”
Morning Scouts, oil on canvas, 36 x 36 in.
New works include Morning Scouts and Just Out of Reach, both of which explore themes of the West.
“People and the landscapes of the West are now my passion. The big sky rushing down to envelop the desert and its mystery. The Indian, not as the warrior but as the modern individual immersed in the cultural expressions, the powwow dance. The cowboy, not as the romantic, but as the silent, strong independent man with a knowledge and responsibility of a precious commodity,” she says. “My love is for the visual power of creation, whether embodied in a painting, a novel, or a film. I approach all creative efforts into a master disclosure from the feminine point of view.”
ASHKIA Diné Navajo Dancer, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in.
Ashleith will next show her work, a piece titled Thunderclouds Break the Western Drought, at the Centerpiece Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina. The show opens October 9 and continues through November 15. She is also currently taking portrait commissions. —
Want to See More?
(505) 920-5405 » IG: ashleith_fine_art
ashleith.fineart20@gmail.com
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