Gloucester Paintings by Melody Phaneuf on View

Winter Twilight, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
~

Melody Phaneuf is exhibiting her Gloucester Paintings through January 7 at Bank Gloucester Gallery, 160 Main St. Gloucester, MA. Join us for the Artist Reception Dec 3 from 11-1


Read more about Winter Twilight, pictured above

~

Melody Phaneuf is an award-winning Boston Artist, well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. She has exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists in Boston, Ma; North Shore Arts in Gloucester, Ma; and Patricia Hutton Galleries in Doylestown, Pa.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Schedule a studio visit
Commission a painting
Online shopping
Art Instruction
facebook
twitter

On Light~

If I could journey back in time I would choose the interval that our consciousness bridged the visual world and language. I envision that we were in and out of comprehension of our being rather than simply being, that we recognized the separation of ourselves from the stream of events. Continue reading~

From Christmas in Rockport, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, in private Collection.

Christmas in Rockport is available in fine art print and handmade note cards

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
See our complete selection of affordable, Art Gifts
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
facebook
twitter

~

Twelve Days of Christmas Featured Painting

Into the Field, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf

~

Today’s Featured Painting, Into the Field, is one of my favorites included in the 12 Days of Christmas offering. As a student, I copied paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts. I was attracted by the work of Dennis Miller Bunker and copied his field paintings. Analyzing and emulating his technique of applying paint in separate brushstrokes illuminated my concept of color. Continue reading~

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
facebook
twitter

~

Working in The Sight Size Method

Melody Phaneuf's studio, showing the distance between painting table and easel in the Sight-Size Method

~

Attempting to paint the visual impression from nature is akin to putting together a puzzle. It’s much easier when you have an image of the whole.

Whether it’s a portrait, landscape, or still life, I stand way back from what I’m painting in order to picture the entire composition. Being far-sighted, this seems natural to me, but I was also trained to do this as an atelier student.

The method, called sight-size, requires that the artist stand back at least three times the distance of the diagonal measurement of the picture plane. From there one measures the tops, bottoms and key points of objects, using a level. A plumb line is used as a guide to locate points on a vertical axis. Relative widths are judged by using thumbs on a ruler to mark edges of objects, then finding those points on the paper or canvas from the same distance. Continue reading~

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade notecards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting by Melody Phaneuf
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

~

Yellow

Yellow, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, Boston
~

Yellow, color of sunshine, has a stimulating, lightening and gladdening effect on the soul. In Greek mythology, Helios the Sun God donned a yellow robe while driving his golden chariot drawn by fiery horses across the sky. The Sun’s radiant yellow light came to symbolize divine wisdom. Continue reading~

~

Yellow, 28 x 24 Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
Yellow is available in Open Edition Print and Fine Art Note Cards

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
facebook
twitter

~

Transformation

Fireworks, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf

~

This morning my eye fell on a painting, perfectly illuminated in the morning light. It was a welcomed relief from images of oil covered pelicans and spewing underwater fury. I am deeply troubled how little appreciation many have for the earth as a living organism that, like a body fighting a ravaging disease, finally becomes exhausted.

The painting is called Fireworks, named for the red roses in the arrangement. Fruits, flowers, and refreshment from an earthenware jug provide a sense of abundance and beauty. I love the character of the old wooden chest, soul of a mighty tree, hand-planed with the meandering imprint of human hand. And the light that revealed vibrations of color splashing against the deep blue background is enchanting and transformational.

It is a blessing to be sensitive to that, which is miraculous in our paths– a certain slant of light, the rhythm of the ocean, the wild beauty of our world. To me, painting is an act of reverence, helping to hold the vision of a perfect world.

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Facebook
Twitter

June

Sunset From The Bridge, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
~

Portal to summer solstice, early June exhibits the most delectable sunsets. Boundless days and saffron skies await us.

Gloucester, being surrounded by water, mirrors the sky’s radiance, luring seekers of light. Among them artists, fortunate to find their way here find it impossible to leave.

It is both soothing and astonishing to live immersed in this natural beauty. Familiarity with landscape, sky and sea cradle one in the soul of Nature, then jostle with an unexpected color, texture, or rhythm.

Sunset From The Bridge is a view only 300 feet from where I reside and pass by every day. It is a forever-changing panorama of color, movement and light that never fails to enchant. An intimate little painting done rapidly, Sunset From The Bridge captures a moment’s glow.

A suite of 20 paintings that explore my favorite niches of Gloucester will be on view June 29th at Boston’s Liberty Hotel, 215 Charles Street, Beacon Hill from 6:00- 8:30. The Liberty offers a lovely complimentary wine tasting during the exhibit.

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Facebook
Twitter

~

Spirit Of The Sea

Voyagers, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf

~

From a life of constant motion, the objects chosen for the painting, Voyagers rest, echoing their past. Along with shells that refused to stay submerged, floats mark a rhythmic line of placement through the vertical composition.

Glass objects frolic with the light, sometimes halting and pushing it backwards, sometimes allowing it to penetrate, making it transparent. The floats’ etched surfaces add another texture to the composition and one more layer to the story.

Light, movement, and the forces that animate are what compel me to paint. Each picture is a quest, ultimately revealing the mechanics of an enigmatic realm of experience, the result of certain combinations of sensory input, reason and active imagination.

The floats and shells in Voyagers, having lived upon and within the movement of waves, convey to me the spirit of the sea. Breathing color and reflected light enlivens the arrangement. Voyagers suggests an eagerness to tell us a story.

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Facebook
Twitter

~

Flow

Flow, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf

~

Watching moving water create ever-changing abstract patterns is mesmerising. The rhythmic flow of cause and effect reminds me of a perpetual motion machine that I saw at the science museum one childhood summer.

Waves surge up, intersect, and divide direction. Movement and light expose and interweave line, shape and color in kaleidoscopic flow.

Conceivably, like snowflakes, no two, wave patterns are alike. No evidence remains to test the theory, only an impression on the memory. Or perhaps like particles in quantum physics, they change when someone is looking at them.

~

Water's Edge, by Melody Phaneuf

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Facebook
Twitter

~

Painting The Park, Gloucester

Triton's Call, 20 x 16 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
~

There is an enchanted park in Gloucester where I love to paint. Its mythic quality reminds me of the coast of Brittany, haunted by the ghosts of Parsifal and Merlin.

I have the sense a presence here, inhabiting a dimension that I cannot see, the carved steps in enormous rocks their stairways to invisible second floor bedrooms. Pink and ochre granite seems to radiate energy that balances too many hours in fluorescent lighting and ambient noise.

From high on the rocks I can look back at where I live, watch the bridge endlessly raise and lower, funneling boats from the Annisquam River into the harbor. People run, others bicycle, some walk dogs while I blissfully paint and observe the distant animation of a busy world.

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.


Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop


Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Facebook
Twitter

~

Paintings Above ~

Yellow Trees by The Sea,
Melody Phaneuf,
8 x 10 oil painting

Pathway, Melody Phaneuf,
8 x 10 oil painting

Halfmoon Beach, Melody Phaneuf,
8 x 10 oil painting

~

Waking up the Senses

Lilacs & Peaches, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
~

In yoga class we begin our practice with subtle movements to gently wake up the muscles. Likewise, in springtime, a gentle waking up of our senses is pleasurable. Nature provides us with new growth, delicate color, and birdsong.

I’m yearning to be surrounded with cool greens and violet. I submit to the urge to remove the red accents from my living room and replace them with soft pinks and peach. These color harmonies attune me to the subtle transition of the season.

I spend time gardening and arranging my surroundings. A lovely, artistic environment nurtures a mindful existence. It inspires appreciation for all that fills our life with simple pleasure.

Spring Meadow, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Fan MelodyTheArtist on facebook
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

~

Abstract Pattern and Shimmering Light

From Bridge, Good Harbor, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf

~

Plein Air painting is a perfect balance to studio work. My teacher, Robert Cormier, used to say that it was the way to “clean up your color eye.” Outdoors, I look for abstract pattern exposed by the effects of light.

From Brittany Forest, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
~

I’m always intrigued by patterns that have a musical quality. I look for rhythms that move the eye in a way that I “hear.” This was something I learned to do as a child and has become the heart of my selection process. It is my way to simplify and find order amidst chaos.

From Harbor Sunset, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting of your favorite landscape
Fan MelodyTheArtist.com on facebook
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

~

Rhythms of Spring

Rhythms And Roses by Melody Phaneuf, 25 x17 oil painting
~

The first day of spring was warm and sunny, inspiring sleeping bulbs to push green tips through the ground. There is a softness in the atmosphere. Gray branches show hints of pink and green. People are beginning to smile.

Rhythms and Roses is an ode to spring. Warm, delicate pinks and cool greens dominate the color scheme, echoing gently into the ivory background. The high key of the painting celebrates the return of light.

Textures abound, creating lively rhythms that cause our eyes to dance through the picture. Patterns spiral throughout giving a sense of growth.

Rhythms And Roses is part of a cycle of four paintings, each celebrating a season of the year.

Rhythms And Roses, 25 x17 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, $2700
The Rhythms Series is available in open edition prints and handmade note cards.

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

~

Relics of The Sea

Relics Of The Sea, 32 x 24 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
~

You can hear waves still pounding from yesterday’s northeaster. I wonder what formerly hidden treasures will be discovered on the shore today, exhumed by the sea~

There is something mysterious about the painting, Relics Of The Sea. The intermediate key sets a penumbral mood. The color scheme is a transitional one, gradating watery hues. And the objects hold a silent story.

I love the idea of the ocean as symbol of the unconscious, the misty world of almost recognized, yet ineffable truths. The sea marks a threshold between the world of solidity and a fluid, elusive plane.

Finding such parallels between objects and ideas is what fascinates me about painting still life. Like distant foghorns, Relics Of The Sea echoes on both the decorative and allegorical levels.

Relics Of The Sea, 32 x 24 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, $7500

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

~

Training The Visual Memory, Part I

Comment pouvez-vous faire, cela?
~

Visual memory is a fountain of artistic imagination, a collection of stored observations. The careful analysis of visual forces becomes a lens through which subsequent experience can be filtered.

How does one develop visual memory? Practice drawing both on paper and in the imagination. Memorizing simple shapes is a good way to start. Focus the attention on outline and proportion. Gradually increase complexity of shape to three dimensions by adding value, that is, light and shadow.


Begin with an image you wish to memorize, tracing paper, drawing paper, ruler and pencil. Measure your image and draw a box of the same dimensions on your paper. In the beginning, drawing diagonals corner to corner on both your image and in the box will help to aid your memory.

Have no distractions. Look at your image for 3 minutes with complete focus, then turn it over and draw it in the box from memory. Go as far as you can. Try closing your eyes for a minute if retrieving the image is difficult.

When you feel complete, turn the image over and compare. Trace the image and the boundaries of the box it is in. Line this box up with the box drawn on the paper to see where your drawing is off. Trace your image in another color or use a dotted line to differentiate. Date this tracing.

Repeat this exercise every day for a week and note your improvement. Increase the complexity of the images and gradually shorten the time you give yourself to memorize and recreate. Ultimately, you want the process to be instantaneous.

~

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

~

After The Storm

After The Storm, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf
~

I love the angle of the sun on February snow. Crisp blue shadows and glistening light at this time of year create stimulating patterns that dance their way through the landscape. All is melting and moving, transitioning toward equinox.

Visually, the white blanket does much to unify the landscape, hiding discordant tones and textures. The reflective surface of snow catches the sunlight and stretches the warm/cool relationship of colors. It heightens the value key to high major and makes our hearts sing.

After The Storm pictures a charming moment in Gloucester, when roadway reveals the land’s meandering companionship to the sea. Hills, houses, light and shadow combine to display a sparkling pattern that brings delight. A dog walker emerges and adds a touch of animation. After The Storm is a glimpse of winter’s fleeting enchantment.


After The Storm, by Melody Phaneuf
11 x 16 Oil Painting $1600
Also available in Open Edition Print

~

Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her work is regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting of a favorite landscape
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

~

Valentine Reverie

Fragrant Delight by Melody Phaneuf~ Vibrant pink roses exude romance and lush beauty.
~

A rose within my heart you are,
My dearest, sweetest, bravest star~

Somehow, in the doldrums of late winter, we manage to kindle a spark of romance. Cupid, the cherubic mischief-maker and sharp shooter, is certain to perk things up a bit. And having been awakened by his darts of passion, we seek to express it by delighting our senses. We behold the perfume and lush beauty of roses, the luxurious embrace of satin upon the skin. We savor chocolate on the palette and resonate the mood with poetry and music.

It is a tribute to our spirit that we find ways to stir from our slumber. Keeping our senses awakened is the essence of aesthetic experience and the reason to surround ourselves, and those we cherish with timeless beauty~

As time goes by from year to year,
One thing is surely true, my dear;
Though decades come and decades go,
Just seeing you sets me aglow.
Your loving heart turns life to play,
As we laugh from day to day.
So I write, and hang my sign,
"Always Be My Valentine."

Wishing you a beautiful Valentine’s Day~ May you be transported by Cupid’s arrow.

~

Fragrant Delight, 36 x 34 Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf is also available in Limited Edition Gicleé on canvas, tumbled marble beverage coasters, and handmade note cards.

~

Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Calendar
Commission a painting by Melody Phaneuf
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter
Musings on Cupid

~

Seeing Light

From Con Spirito, Painting in Oil by Melody Phaneuf

~

It was my mother who taught me to notice the light. As a child in my high chair, I would watch how she would stop and stare at a sun beam penetrating our kitchen window, her eyes narrowed and focused on something, to me, intangible. Since I couldn’t yet speak, I didn’t ask what she was looking at but I mimicked her in the hopes I could know what so mesmerized her.

Later I studied how light bathes forms and spills color, how it moves fluidly revealing textures in its wake. Light, to me, is the animating force in visual composition. It is the key to evoking emotional response.

I am often asked how to paint glass or copper or some other object. It is not the materials that I paint but the light that acts upon them. This subtle shift in observation provides a unifying force in painting, and simplifies a complex visual world.

~

Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf's paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and beverage coasters, fine art prints, and handmade notecards.


Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Download our free 2010 Art Calendar
Commission a painting by Melody Phaneuf
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter

~

A Morning in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Toward Westkerk, 20 x 16 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf

~

A morning in Amsterdam is a much quieter experience than it is in Boston. In Amsterdam, bicycles far outnumber cars, changing the sound of the morning commute. The metallic jingle of a handlebar bell is a welcomed change to the eviscerating assault of car horns and trucks thundering by. I love a culture that eases, rather than hurls itself into the day.

Amsterdam, Toward Westkerk is a glimpse of a typical Amsterdam morning in early summer. People emerge, some on foot, some on bicycles, making their way to their destinations. It is a gentle morning, sunny at the moment, but the weather can change in an instant. Amsterdam cyclers are adept at juggling umbrellas, groceries, and perhaps a small dog while continuing on their journeys.

The Westkerk neighborhood’s ancient shop windows are carved and frame elaborate displays of goods, beautifully arranged. Early in the morning, a passerby might catch a glimpse of an artist at work through a tiny opening, far behind a fenestrated entry. Such windows reveal the depth of the buildings, belying the diminutive, taxable frontage.

There are many treasures to discover on a peaceful morning promenade through Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, Toward Westkerk is a 20 x 16 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf

~

Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Her paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf ‘s paintings have been exhibited at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo, features Phaneuf’s original oil paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints, and handmade notecards.


Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop


Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com
Visit Melody Phaneuf at Fenway Studios, Boston
Commission a painting by Melody Phaneuf
Download our free 2010 Calendar

~

Dreams and Mandalas

Page from The Red Book of Carl Jung

~

A recent pilgrimage to view The Red Book of Carl Jung left me inspired and rejuvenated. For many years I kept dream journals but somehow got away from the practice. I've resumed the tradition since my excellent journey to the Rubin Museum. The Red Book is under glass, very large, beautifully illuminated and calligraphed by Jung. The images echo mythology and Byzantine saints. The Red Book may be a revelation in understanding the birth of consciousness.

Jung recognized that a visual image could help a viewer integrate aspects of the personality; that a circle in particular could energize one toward wholeness. Several pages of The Red Book revealed Jung’s ruminations on Mandala design. His dreams and visions seemed oddly familiar to me, like the rereading of a favorite tale.

The exhibit of Mandalas at the museum superbly dovetailed with Jung’s exploration of dreams, symbols, and the connection to the soul. The power of shape and color has always intrigued me. I often recollect a transporting experience that I had while standing in rays of blue light cast from a rose window at Chartres cathedral.

There is something satisfying about viewing inner visions, whether our own or someone else’s. The familiarity of these images makes one realize that we are ever so much more alike than different. There is a common meeting place, if we dig deep enough~

Emanations, Drawing from a Dream Journal of Melody Phaneuf

•

Boston Artist, Melody Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life, landscape, and portrait paintings. Phaneuf’s paintings are regularly on view at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street; at Fenway Studios, Boston by appointment; and North Shore Art in Gloucester from May through October. Phaneuf has exhibited her paintings at The National Arts Club in New York City, Galerie Herouet in Paris, and with Art du Monde, in Japan.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases Phaneuf’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
Online shopping at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop


Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter
Be a facebook fan of MelodyTheArtist.com/shop
Visit Melody Phaneuf at Fenway Studios, Boston
Commission a painting by Melody Phaneuf
Download our Free 2010 Calendar

~