OUTSIDE THE
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True Colors Contemporary impressionist Melissa Anderson answers her creative calling / by Kathleen Nalley // photography by Eli Warren
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elissa Anderson sees life as an evolving work in progress. And she sees the creation of art as the same— each swath of color is a nuance of imagination; each brush stroke, a reflection of life’s activity; each painted canvas, “an arc of experience.” Anderson’s oil paintings reflect the tenor of her life outside the studio as an individual constantly absorbing the surrounding environment. Anderson was a practicing attorney for eight years and only discovered her artistic muse while on sabbatical from law. A beginner’s class at the Greenville County Museum of Art was her first foray into art, and Anderson hasn’t looked back. She quickly found artists she could “latch onto,” and set about studying under nationally recognized names in New York and beyond. A self-described manic painter, Anderson admits she may be “self-driven, but not self-taught.” Anderson paints a plethora of subjects: flowers, landscapes, still life, and figures. Often, objects in her studio—an arrangement of orange clementines and camellias, or a turquoise metal chair—become the foci of work. Her “treasure table”—where Anderson arranges, edits, and rearranges favorite items collected over her travels—is interpreted into colorful vignettes. Likewise, family members
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become figure studies. An enormous, ethereal painting of her two daughters, evocative of angels, keeps watch over the stairwell in her studio. Anderson also finds inspiration in color palettes of found objects, as is the case with her “scarf series,” whose bold blue, yellow, and red hues are lifted from two scarves that drape over a studio chair. In fact, the artist’s signature aesthetic is her manipulation and use of rich color. A constant learner, the artist does not always seek out inspiration; rather, she falls into it, her brush acting as an extension of memory. Anderson’s current works-in-progress feature people and scenes from a foxhunt she attended in the Lowcountry. “A lot of times, you’re absorbing what’s in the peripheral,” she says. “Inevitably, it’s those bits and pieces that wind up in your painting.” Anderson’s paintings are in numerous private and public collections, including the Greenville County Museum of Art, the City of Greenville, County Bank, McCall Hospice House, and the Cascades. Locally, her work can be viewed at Art & Light, the Mary Praytor Gallery, or by appointment at her studio. For more information, visit melissaandersonstudio.com