ART
Ed Mell at Paradise Valley Town Hall By Bill Macomber Some artists have a style that makes them recognizable from two blocks away. Ed Mell is one of them. Old Town drivers have known his work, maybe without being aware of it, for many years. His bucking bronco sculpture at the center of the Main Street and “Navajo Horses”, 16” x 20”, oil, 2008 Marshall Way traffic circle carries the style he made famous in his paintings and captures the essence of the Scottsdale arts district. It’s about time Ed was the subject of what has become a very nice tradition in Paradise Valley: Samples of his wonderful paintings hanging at Town Hall. The show opened Oct. 8. Mell was born in Phoenix when this was still a small town – 1942. He honed his skills at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He worked in New York at ad giant Young and Rubicam. A return home to the beauty of Arizona was the catalyst that produced his first angular, minimalist landscape paintings that have made him famous. He’s in many art museum collections and has for years been a hot commodity among collectors. He’s one of the few “Western” artists that somehow always rises above the genre. Visitors to P.V. Town Hall are welcome to view Ed’s paintings during regular business hours through September 2014. Our congratulations on this show and on a long and very successful career. P.V. Town Hall is at 6401 E. Lincoln Drive.
“Renewal,” 22” x 30”, oil, 2001
TRENDS MAGAZINE
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