Artful Living

The Bridge, Good Harbor oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
is based on angular movement and contrasts round with pointed shapes
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What does it mean to live an artful life? For me, it is being surrounded with color, shape, and textures that are pleasing. I love pattern, colored glass, and certain combinations of objects that vary enough to create an interesting moment but have a certain unity between them. I love looking at the ocean from a violet living room framed by a light warm grey. And how a few spots of pomegranate red can activate an otherwise cool and passive room.

The way in which one arranges things can create harmonic or contrasting rhythms. Eye movement creates an evocative response. It contributes to how we feel in a space. How we feel can be affected by seasonal changes of temperature and light. I often move a painting or print when I need a change of color or to want to develop a new rhythm. It’s much easier than repainting the room every time and it gives me infinite variety.

The movement within a painting, tapestry or a rug pattern can help unify or create chaos in a room. If you are bored, add more angular movement; if you are agitated, slow, full curves will sooth. Similarities calm, while Contrasts excite. And forming a gentle gradation between contrasts will bridge the gap.

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The Bridge, Good Harbor by Melody Phaneuf, 28 x 20 oil painting

The Bridge, Good Harbor is available in fine art prints, marble tile coasters, and handmade note cards

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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. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist,com/shop

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The Bridge, Connection to Paradise

Nowhere else can we find the delight that beauty brings. A life bereft of aesthetic pleasure is unmerciful and dulls the senses. Often surprising and elusive, an encounter with beauty elevates and inspires a gracious attitude.

Imagine my joy when, during a customary walk at Gloucester's Good Harbor Beach, dreamy light revealed such beauty of pattern. The radiant effect of blue sky delicately woven with lemon sun mirrored from the water suggested a timeless threshold. I was struck by the eternal quality of the light, the metaphor of moving water as life’s passage, and the bridge as connection to a paradisiacal world. This epiphany was inspiration for painting The Bridge, Good Harbor.

A lovely tribute to the iconic quality of the image is its popularity. Tile coasters, open edition prints, and cards are sold in Cape Ann gift stores and the Gloucester Museum, as well as our online store. It is a great pleasure to share my experience of beauty with others.

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Artist Melody Phaneuf lives and paints in Gloucester, MA and at Fenway Studios, Boston. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative landscape and still life paintings and has achieved significant acclaim for portraiture. She has exhibited at Galerie Herouet in Paris, The National Arts Club in New York City, and with Art du Monde, a traveling exposition in Japan. Phaneuf’s paintings are regularly displayed at Northshore Arts in Gloucester and The Guild of Boston Artists, Boston, MA.

Melody The Artist Home, founded with photographer and color specialist, Martha DiMeo showcases the artist’s original paintings on tumbled marble tile murals and coasters, fine art prints, and handmade note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

The Bridge, Good Harbor, 28 x 20 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf is available in fine art prints and tile coasters.

follow Melody on twitter
become a facebook fan
visit Melody’s studio