Christmas Enchantment

Season’s Greeting, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf,
available in Open Edition Print, and Handmade Notecards

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Once upon a time there was wonder at Christmas, the mysterious visit of a red-clad Saint who gifted good children with their heart’s desire. In those by-gone days, toys were made by hand and gifts were wrapped in shimmering papers and embellished with velvet ribbons. Thus it was in my childhood picture books~ all was enchantment.

I do recall being woken in the darkest of nights to a spectacle of colored lights steeped in evergreen fragrance, astonished at the abundance that had suddenly appeared. An empty glass of milk and cookie crumbs were the evidence that Saint Nicholas had found us. Christmas was the best time to be a child.

The painting, Season’s Greeting is an interpretation of Christmas magic. The low major key expresses a sense of wonder with its eye-opening smash of light. The carved horse is reminiscent of an era when toys were made from wood, with loving care. Season’s Greeting is meant to inspire the spirit of Christmas, untarnished, as if seen through the eyes of a child.

Wishing you a wonder-filled Christmas~

Season’s Greeting, 14 x 20 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf, in private collection, Gloucester, MA

Season’s Greeting is available in Open Edition Print, and Handmade Notecards

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
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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 notecards.

Follow MelodyTheArtist on twitter
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Visit Melody Phaneuf at Fenway Studios, Boston
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Painting Color And Light~ Mysteries

Mysteries, 24 x 18 Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf, Boston Artist

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Merlin pursued the maid Ninevah, and would not let her rest~
Tales of the Roundtable

Painting light, like painting wind, is impossible. The artist can only paint the effects of those powerful causes~ the movement caused by the wind, the color caused by the light.

Light is has an infinite repertoire of color combinations. Color appears elusive because light is moving, caressing, breathing. For many artists, capturing the essence of this quality is much like searching for the Holy Grail, we just keep pursuing the path.

In the oil still life painting, Mysteries, the light is diffuse and dusty. The shadows land quietly, and settle into place. The neutrality is alive with contrary combinations of warm and cool. The color intervals are small, yet subtle subdivisions give infinite variety.

Mysteries is a quiet painting; the color and lighting call for contemplation. The lyrical composition causes the eye movement through the painting to be gently paced. Mysteries invites the viewer to an intimate observation of light.

Mysteries, 24 x 18 Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf, Boston Artist

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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.

Looking for affordable art?
See our complete selection of Hostess Gifts~
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

Everything Matters

Young artists often ask me questions about their artwork that are prefaced with “does it matter if…” My first response is “everything matters.” But that is the abbreviated version.

I ascribe to an idea very like the “Broken Windows Theory,” discussed by Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point. An epidemic theory of crime, Broken Windows suggests that the impulse to engage in certain behavior initiates in the environment rather than the person and that the festering epidemic can be reversed by tweaking environmental cues.

The link between environment and culture makes perfect sense when you think about the Greece of Plato and Aristotle, the significance of beauty, and the accomplishments of Greek culture. Beauty was the ideal that was studied and applied in every aspect of life. Each proportion was measured. It all mattered. Then ponder the great scientific advances of the Italian Renaissance, born in surroundings of the Medici aesthetic. Beauty mattered.

Our Boston building, Fenway Studios, hosts an annual Open Studios event. Visitors come to see Art and the artists who create it. I love to chat with people who are interested in what we do. One sentiment that was consistently expressed by many who loved the paintings was the wish that they could afford to buy. I thought about the reality of this—that often, living with art is limited to a certain income level, but shouldn’t be.

Believing that everyone deserves to live with beauty, I partnered with color reproduction expert, Martha DiMeo, to begin producing a small line of affordable prints and note cards. Seven years later, we have launched an online store, expanded the number of images available for prints, cards, and bookmarks, and have created a line of botticino marble tile murals and coaster gift sets.

Living surrounded with aesthetic pleasure may seem like a little thing that doesn’t matter. I would argue that it makes your personal world a better, kinder place and you contribute the same to the whole. That matters. We are doing our part to make beauty a component of everyone’s life. Everyone deserves a pleasing environment.

Shown above: Sunflowers of Dordogne Fine Art Coasters
Melody The Artist Home offerings at http://melodytheartist.com/shop