Bean Commission, Panel 2, Acrylic on Canvas, 2007
I work primarily with acrylics and pastels, using these mediums
to contrast the heavy, immobile nature of many of the subjects
in my works against soft, blurry settings or vice-versa. I am
constantly attempting to play with texture, to trick the eye
into seeing or believing something that isn’t quite there;
forcing the viewer to be drawn inward into an illusion of distorted
reality. My work has progressed over the years from linear,
personalized ideas to a more cohesive and ambitious narrative
encompassing not only myself, but of all humanity.
In my pieces, I attempt to string together this constant battle
of images and ideas brewing within current thoughts and discourse
of what makes and breaks a person...loneliness, passion, spirituality…to
convey the numbing duality of the surface, static symbolism
of the World’s expectations with bright, simple and primary
colors—which are pulled heavily from my Caribbean roots--merged
together with the more complex, dark and chaotic lifelines hidden
just beneath. I strive to create this feeling of being stuck
in a waking dream…tipping on the edge of reality. This
World, my World, is one that is both beautiful and ugly, concrete
and uncertain, silent and animated, flirting with implication
while feigning ignorance…but never dishonest.
© Copyright 2008 Melanie Stevens All Rights
Reserved
