This will be the first time Melody has exhibited in Northern Ireland and the show ‘The Spiritual Journey of a West Country Artist’ will take the form of a retrospective including work created from when she was 17 years old to the present day. Also included will be some of her poetry which is very much part of her romantic, expressionistic art style.
Melody’s journey began in the south west of England in one of the smallest of National Parks, Exmoor. At the age of nine, roaming with her little Spaniel, she recreated the beauty she observed in her surroundings with photographs and oil paint, colour and faith became her comfort, celebration, restoration and hope. Her paintings and the poetry she writes are inspired by The Romantics, especially J.M.W. Turner who also painted on Exmoor.
Her work is widely exhibited internationally, including exhibitions in Florence, London, and the Agora Gallery in New York. She has featured in a range of magazines including
ARTisSPECTRUM,
English Home, and
Chelsea Perspective since graduating from Winchester School of Art.
Growing up on Exmoor inspired Melody to capture the beautiful landscapes and colours through the medium of oil painting. She covers a wide range of subjects - from detailed landscapes to abstract Still life; all of which are created by bands of colour and patterns which make her pieces come alive. She has a strong ability to capture light and to show how the colours and forms of the natural world are in many ways a reflection of that light. Part of the direct physical quality of Melody’s canvases is based on her keen eye for texture. Working in oils, she achieves an impressive variety of effects. Her colours will sometimes be applied with the soft delicacy most often associated with watercolours, giving her images an ethereal glow. On other occasions she will use thick brushstrokes to emphasise the earthbound contours of the scene. The resulting paintings give a spiritual aura to a realistically grounded view of her surroundings.
Working from the Old Tannery Studio in the village of Porlock on the edge of Exmoor, Melody, and her husband David, a landscape photographer, later opened High Street Gallery in the village in 2010 where she continues to enthral passers-by with the range of beautiful and colourful art on display.
For further details please contact Antrim Castle Gardens and Clotworthy House on 028 9448 1338 or visit the website
www.antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk/events
You can follow Melody on
Facebook for a chance to
WIN a signed print during the exhibition and view her exhibition catalogue on Instagram using the Instagram app, or at
www.instagram.com/melodyhawtinartist/ her website,
www.melodyart.com is also worth visiting.