I Know Who I Am
Melinda Anter (MELA)
MELINDA ANTER
East Greenwich, RHODE ISLAND, USA
Darkness is the absence of light. In low light, your pupils open up, or dilate, to let in more light. My new series "di·lation of imagination" explores the relationship between darkness and light, and how the mind expands to let light in.
As I experimented using the smallest amount of highlights to create an eye in the shadows, the faces that emerged showed a level of depth and emotion that I questioned where it was coming from within me. After 9 faces were completed, I learned about shadow work from a friend and completely connected to the idea that this is what was coming out in these paintings. Each face flowed easily through the paints to the canvas through my hand, and the emotions that I saw on the canvases were not intentionally painted. Rather than share what I was seeing, I realized that each person who views the portraits will have a different take on the emotions that they see and feel, based on their past, their experiences, and their own perspective. Are they dark? You tell me. “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” - Shakespeare
Melinda Lowry Anter (MELA) grew up in Utah and Colorado and currently lives in Rhode Island with her husband and 3 dogs. Her work follows a path of self-discovery, from realism to abstract, pencils to painting, photography to graphic design. Honing skills acquired over the years, she continues to follow her inspiration and creates paintings that take the viewer along with her on a journey of art to see things in a way they haven’t been seen before.