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Melissa Chandon is strongly influenced by the environment. Growing up in California, Chandon draws inspiration from her surroundings, often sketching and drawing the landscape. Her paintings act as a visual journal to her life. Chandon states, “I consider my paintings to be moments of expressed inspiration.”
Using the technique of applying multiple layers of red acrylic paint to canvas, Chandon makes the surface perfectly smooth. This red under tone gives her paintings subtle warmth that glows through the picture. She applies thin coats of oil paint combined with turpentine, thinned into a watery-like mixture, finishing the painting with a rich varnish. Chandon perfected her art through study at the University of California Davis, mentoring under Wayne Thiebaud, a well-known pop artist. Through Thiebaud’s influence and her own personal style, Chandon has created what she likes to refer to as “abstract realism”. Wayne Thiebaud comments, “She has developed an effective synthesis of abstract and representational elements in her works. This gives the works an intensity and raw graphic power to behold.” |
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