A N G E L A M E L A N S O N
V I S U A L A R T I S T
Until January 4
Designer Café, Kentville, Nova Scotia
Angela Melanson, like her art, is edgy urban chic firmly planted in 50 acres of enchanted woodland on Gaspereau Mountain near Wolfville. When visiting Angela, one can’t help but feel that unusual creatures, with mysterious tales, play in Angela’s forest, as much as they play through Angela’s imagination.
It is from her vantage point that Angela draws most of her inspiration – the native rabbits and birds, as well as her imagined creatures, keep her mind full of ideas with a longing to understand the relationship between humans, animals and the environment.
Angela uses awkward tools, fingers-painting, her left hand, and even closes her eyes to help keep her preconceived notions at bay while freely adding patterns and shapes to her work. The process is entirely organic and forces her to live in the moment. Angela then looks for clues as to where the painting should go next. She likens this to her childhood pleasure of lying on the grass, looking upwards to find creatures, objects and faces in the clouds.
Angela is a formally trained textile artist and self-taught painter. She recently traveled to New Mexico for a painting workshop with one of her favourite outsider artists. There, she learned various techniques which inspire her work and help push her beyond the boundaries of her formal training and her perceived ideas of traditional painting techniques. Angela utilizes her training in colour combinations and line work, often found in her textile pieces, and incorporates these elements into her painted creations. Angela has been able to bridge the gap between these various mediums by using similar stylistic expressions in both mediums - showcasing her own whimsical style.
The Designer Café offers the many artists in our region a relaxed venue to show their work outside of a gallery or formal exhibition. The Café shows a wide range of artworks from abstract to representational to book illustrations and outsider art.
Hours: Monday – Thursday 7am-5pm, Friday 7am-6pm, Saturday 8am-4pm
For more information, contact Deborah Nicholson at info@dnphotoworks.com or 902-582-7959. To contact the café directly, call 902-365-3322.
