Moved by the Spirit

Peaceful Harbor, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf

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For as long as I can remember I have believed that my purpose is to make things. I recall long preschool afternoons with my mother, joyfully immersed in constructing dollhouses from cardboard boxes. I loved to “color,” and was always happy with crayons, paper, and imagination. Continue reading~

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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.

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In Praise of Blue

Plum Cove, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
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There is a special healing power in blue. I have written before about standing in a ray of blue light from a rose window at Chartres Cathedral as it sent a vibration of pure joy and transcendence through my core. But my appreciation of blue began with a childhood experience. 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.

Make Your Life a Work of Art~
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Training The Visual Memory, Part I

Comment pouvez-vous faire, cela?
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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.

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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~
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Seeing Light

From Con Spirito, Painting in Oil by Melody Phaneuf

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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.

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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~
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A Morning in Amsterdam

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

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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

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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
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Visit Melody Phaneuf at Fenway Studios, Boston
Commission a painting by Melody Phaneuf
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Artistic Inspiration~ Harvest Suite

Harvest Suite, 30 x 25 oil painting by Boston Artist Melody Phaneuf
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Wood tones and earthenware evoke a sense of rustic comfort in Harvest Suite. The diminished intensity of color in the painting is quiet, holding our attention for its subtlety rather than its vibrancy. Soft, diffused lighting caresses the objects, nurturing a comforting ambiance.

The carved shelf reminded me of a favorite inn in Brittany, which inspired the theme. Once a hunting lodge, the inn’s mahogany dining room was chiseled with oak leaves and motifs that echo the enchanted forest nearby. I wanted to express my feelings and recollections awakened by the shelf’s pattern. Hand-hewn pottery in butterscotch and mauve, fruits of the earth and simplicity of design suggest a delicious earthy coziness. A tendril of ribbon contributes slow, meandering movement, interweaving the design.

Harvest Suite may not reveal its Breton roots to the viewer but the painting’s agreeable color, texture, and simplicity nourishes the visual appetite.

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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. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Harvest Suite, 30 x 25 oil painting by Boston Artist Melody Phaneuf

Harvest Suite is available in fine art prints and handmade notecards.

See our complete selection of Autumn Décor and Hostess Gifts~
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The Seeker

“May peace be within you, may your heart be strong. May you find what you're seeking wherever you roam.” ~Irish Blessing

The Seeker expresses the quest to discover life’s purpose by searching the spiritual realm. The arrangement evokes the idea of an altar or ritual~ perhaps the unseen seeker has camped for the night and is preparing to invoke the Creator.

The well-worn, labeled suitcase suggests a long journey; the books, coins, Tarot~ are tools to aid entry to a spiritual domain. Bells entrance with hypnotic reverberation and symbolize the idea of pilgrimage.

The candle’s light, an individual soul inspired toward enlightenment, burns brightly and warmly in the interior space until absorbed by the greater surrounding light. The arabesque movement, guided by placement of objects and shadows is gentle but mesmerizing. All is in place for the seeker’s revelation.

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Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, working at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape 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 the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, 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 Seeker, 22 x 34 oil painting by Melody Phaneuf

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Related Links~

• Pilgrimage
• Myth and Ritual
• Path to Enlightenment

Making Paintings~ The Calling to Create

Visitors to my studio enjoy seeing a painting in progress. For some, it is a surprise that I work from actual objects rather than inventing the picture. I do invent; it is the spark of an idea that comes together in my mind, then to some scribbles on paper, which explore the visual interpretation of a concept. Then comes the actual arranging of the props I will use for the painting. The more elaborate arrangements take months to paint, partly because I work on several paintings at a time and partly because of the intricacies of finish. There are technical reasons for letting a surface breath for a while as well.

Having collected thousands of props and fabrics to compose paintings, I am adored at flea markets and local antique shops. The figure in the painting, Calling, is a Caproni plaster cast of Cupid who has lost his wings. I purchased it many years ago in the hopes I could have it repaired, but as it turns out, he is perfectly suited for his role in Calling.

I am most inspired by paintings that attempt to communicate an idea. Calling is the story of a creature, played by the plucky Cupid, who is destined for a purpose over which there is no choice. Cupid, himself, has the commitment to expose a point in the heart in others by skillful aiming of his arrow. Once struck, the outpouring of love awakens desire. Here the desire is for the calling, represented by the ram’s horn ~used in timeless deserts for calling fellow Nomads, now pointed toward Cupid’s ear. Brushes, tubes of paint and palette give hints at what this calling is about. The leafy vine gives a sense of ever growing and the chair itself has a carved leaf like design. The contrast of color is arresting, and the arranged shapes of the fabric communicate a buoyant idea.

And what of Cupid’s wings? As it turns out, Cupid has not been without obstacles but has endured. This often happens when divine inspiration comes to the earth plane, but his persistence gives us hope and willingness toward purpose.

Calling is still evolving and is destined for the International Art Show in Boston this fall. If you would like to visit my studio, please call 617 236 4322 or email melody@MelodyTheArtist.com to arrange a time.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, working at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape 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 the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, 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 note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop


Calling, oil painting in progress by Melody Phaneuf, 30 x 36

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Related~

• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cupid
• The Force of Destiny
• Finding Your Calling

Fragrant Delight~ Balm For The Spirit

If you’re anything like me, you find it a challenge to keep a buoyant and clear mind in the face of constant negative news. I busily go through my day, trying to keep my focus positive, but the sights and sounds in my periphery subliminally seep into my consciousness.

Soothing oneself with beauty is a balm for the spirit. I've often sat in the Museum’s Impressionist gallery to drink in the color and the joie de vivre with which those artists painted. My mood brightens; I defy anyone to brood in the midst of Impressionist paintings.

It is this understanding of imagery’s power that calls many artists to create. The action of creation is, in itself supremely pleasurable but it is the wish to share this delight with others that is the true motivator. For many of us, filling the world with beauty is our service work, an attempt to change minds and lighten hearts.

The painting, Fragrant Delight, exudes abundance and joy. Rich turquoise contrasts vibrant pink and showcases lush garden roses. The intensity of the light causes crisp reflections and pink echoes to radiate from the exuberant blooms. Ripe peaches add golden notes, which augment the symphonic color scheme. A circular composition structures the feeling of wholeness; flowers and fruit, so freely given by Nature cultivate the sense of abundance. A contemporary mandala, Fragrant Delight is a visual antidote to a world rocked with turbulence, harshness, and scarcity.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, working at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape 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 the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, 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 note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Fragrant Delight, by Melody Phaneuf, is a 36 x 34 oil painting. Gicleé reproductions on canvas and fine art tile coasters of Fragrant Delight are available at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Related~

• The Nature of Aesthetic Experience
• Role of Aesthetics in Our Environment
• Color Promotes Happiness

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Violet~ Trending With Color

Symbolic of royalty, violet or purple, is on trend in decorating. In challenging economic times, what could be more comforting than living with color fit for a king?

As I consider the color’s various associations with serenity, mysticism, and creativity, I am reminded of a report I wrote about Phoenicia in the third grade. At that tender age, Phoenician culture fascinated me, particularly its artistry. Ancient mariners, it was the Phoenicians who extracted indigo dye from mollusks, using it as a means of barter to build wealth. The rare and treasured color was affordable only to royal families.

To a colorist, violet’s wealth is in its balance of opposing forces. It is combination of two primary colors, red and blue. Red’s qualities are active and advancing; blue is passive and receding. Tension and equilibrium of these qualities offer subtle, expressive possibilities to the artist, decorator, and landscape designer.

The painting, entitled Violet, explores the abundance of variation within this single hue. Subtle shifts in value, intensity, and color temperature cause pleasant stimulation in the cones of our eyes. Restraint of color allows for exploration of textural contrasts and sharpness versus softness of edge. These visual attributes engage and draw us in, the same way that one focuses to hear a whisper. The elegant aesthetic of Violet is the result of nuance.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, working at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape 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 the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, 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 note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Violet, is a 20 x 16 Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf. Fine art prints of this image are available at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop.

Related Links~

• What is Violet?
• Designing With Purple
• All about Violet

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Rhythms and Roses~ In Celebration of Spring

Friday is the first day of spring and it is almost warm enough to work in the garden. The idea of renewal has us adjusting to brighter days, lighter colors and thoughts of new growth. There is a delicacy in the air, a quickening sensation of life force.

Roused by the Muses of Spring, I created Rhythms and Roses. It is one of a series of four paintings inspired by seasonal delight. The delicate color is soothing to our eyes, a gentle emergence from the neutrality of winter months. The split-complementary color scheme is tempered by use of light tints. Spiraling pattern of the spring green carafe and carved detail of the shelf create a sense of movement and growth. Orchestration of soft versus firm edge and echoes of interwoven color throughout Rhythms and Roses establishes a quiet pulse.

Since it’s still a little cool to garden, I attend to spring tidying and redecorating at home. I feel the vernal urge to begin again. And to help me encourage the Muses of Spring, Rhythms and Roses is now gracing the mantel.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, working at Fenway Studios. Phaneuf is well known for her evocative still life and landscape 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 the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, 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 note cards. Online ordering at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Rhythms And Roses, part of The Rhythms Series, is a 24 x 17 Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf. Fine art prints and handmade notecards of this image are available at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Related Links~

• Freshen Your Home for Spring
• Collecting Art
• Tips on Hanging Art
• Ideas on Displaying Art

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Composing Paintings

Visual composition organizes space in the same way that classical music organizes time. All parts of a visual composition —line, color, value, shape, texture, size, and direction— are subordinated to a main idea. The idea is the intention expressed by the artist.

Compositional arrangements begin in a variety of ways. At times the artist may want to simply convey a mood with a decorative statement. Sometimes the idea is more complex and illustrative, such as expression of a myth, homage to a person, or historic era. Exploration of an elemental relationship, for example, the interaction of a certain combination of colors, shapes and lines can be the source on which to structure visual compositions as well. This aleatoric mode demands that the artist recognize a pattern, rhythm, or movement and what is evoked from that particular arrangement.

In still life composition, the artist arranges objects, choosing the lighting and color to best communicate the intention. In landscape painting, composition is the art of selection. It is essential to choose the vantage point that leads the viewer through the scene in the manner and at the pace intended to create a certain visual experience. In portraiture, a combination of arrangement and selection is required to best express the personality of the sitter.

Artful composition is quite abstract. The best representational painting isn’t judged on how well the artist emulates nature in paint; it is based on distinguished abstract structure. The way in which that structure affects us communicates certain ideas or moods much the same as musical structure does.

Fireworks may seem to be a decorative clutch of flowers and fruit amongst crockery. Compositionally, it is an exploration of the explosive nature of red in a field of its complementary color; and cyclical motion, with its relation to time and space. The whirling movement is balanced by triangular stability; the reverberating red echoes throughout, drawing the eye along melodically while the spots of light punctuate the darkness with a lively rhythm. The experience reminds me of watching a fireworks display, in which one attempts to follow one burst of light but is inevitably drawn to the next.

I “hear” this painting. The snap, crackle, pop against the sough and rattle pleases me. Still a work in progress, Fireworks is just moments from the finale.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston artist, composing and painting at historic Fenway Studios. She is a regular exhibitor at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury St, Boston. More photos of Fireworks in progress and the sight size method of painting can be viewed on facebook~ Become a fan and please visit MelodyTheArtist.com/shop.


Links~

• Aleatoric Composition
• Composition in Art
• Henry Rankin Poore on Composition

Paying Homage To The Oracle

Uncertain times. The news is discouraging. Leaders arm-wrestle over stimulus plans and nuclear arms. I listen to financial and political analysts; I overhear conversations. Just now, I am within earshot of a group of teenagers in intense discussion. The answer to all our economic woe is revealed. Of course! They know everything after all, but they have yet to live in their car, as does Henrietta Hughes, who, just yesterday, threw herself on the mercy of President Obama.

Indecision wracks us all, causing sleepless nights and distracted days. I am intrigued by the historical use of oracles to resolve dilemmas. What mechanism of mind or will allows one to believe in the certainty of this answer? Why does the tossing of a coin, lighting of a candle, or shuffling of the deck ease the burden of decision?

We have our present-day Oracles. I recall a radio interview with a Major Ed Dames, former CIA guru of “remote viewing” during the cold war with Russia in the 50’s. The interview was a couple of years ago, when the real estate market was cooling off a bit. “Total world economic collapse coupled with worldwide pandemic,” he prophesied. Stocks were soaring then; the Major was obviously eccentric, but I am now taking vitamins, just in case.

The painting entitled Oracle pays homage to the idea that focusing on something external can unlock an internal gate, where the roadmap to destiny lies hidden. Deep, absorbent blue and dazzling golden stars whirl us into a hypnotic space where the veil is lifted and the Oracle speaks. It is a quiet consultation, still a whisper at the moment. I will be sure to keep you posted on what I find out.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston Artist, well known for her evocative still life and landscape paintings. 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. Her paintings are regularly displayed at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.

Phaneuf is a member of the Fenway Studios Cooperative, a community of artists whose historic north light building was modeled on the 19th century Parisian Ateliers. Visits to her studio are welcomed.

Oracle, by Melody Phaneuf, Oil Painting, 24 x 32

Related Links~

• Oracles Throughout History
• In Search Of Delphi
• Entranced In Tibet

The Gambler~ Dreams of The Jester

Emerging from a long and darkened corridor, I enter the space, unnoticed. Halted by voices, I quietly peer into a chamber illuminated by firelight. Where am I? I should flee but am captivated by knowing.

The Jester faces me. He is intent on the hand he is playing, and does not regard my presence. I can see the opponent’s hand. I want to have a sense of how the game is going and slowly, inaudibly, move my position to see the opponent’s expression. I am aghast to see my own face!

What fascinating state dreaming is. For many years I kept journals of my nightly escapades. I documented and illustrated the events, endeavoring to capture the emotional quality of each dream experience. Colors were vivid, and lighting always distinct. Many of these entries were transformed into paintings, etchings, and artist books.

I don’t gamble in my day-life but the Jester recurs in my dreams. Sometimes he is leading a group of followers; sometimes he is alone. I always find myself in the position of the observer and can’t seem to have direct contact with him. In this case, I am observing both the Jester and myself. So~ if I am in the scene, who is the one watching? If I am the one watching, who is in the scene?

Melody Phaneuf's paintings have been exhibited at Galerie Herouet in Paris, The National Arts Club in New York City, and were included in a traveling exposition in Japan. Her work is regularly displayed at the Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. Melody is a member of the Fenway Studios Cooperative, a community of Boston artists whose historic north light building was modeled on the 19th century Parisian Ateliers. Studio visits are welcomed.

Gambler II, Oil Painting, 16 x 20, Private Collection

Gambler II, Open Edition Print, Note Cards and Bookmarks are available at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

About the Jester and Dreams~

• The Court Jester
• The Jester's Political Significance
• The Importance of Dreams
• Dreams and Jung
• Recalling Dreams

Season's Greetings~A Focal Point With Spirit

Season’s Greetings, oil painting by Melody Phaneuf
Private Collection

“I want to inspire the spirit of Christmas year round.”

This was the declaration by the patron who was to purchase the painting, Season’s Greetings. Having just finished a substantial home addition, she was looking for a focal point for the new family room; something to blend with her beautiful furniture, yet make a statement in her new interior.

Season’s Greetings was painted with a child’s heart, a sense of awe from magically appearing gifts, of dreams come true. The expression is supported by an intermediate major key, which mesmerizes us with light emerging from darkness. The dazzling white rocking horse provides the light, reflected in the bell and gift-wrap. Contrasting color —warm reds and cool blue green—causes pupils to expand and contract, entrancing us with wonder. The key allows colors to be rich without harshness.

The theme of the painting, the dramatic lighting and captivating color were well suited to be the focal point of the new family room. The neutralized yellow wall color is in harmony with the tone of the bell and golden gift. The room’s large windows, perpendicular to the wall where the art is hung flood the room with illumination, without directly hitting the painting. Season’s Greetings hangs above an antique bookcase. The ensemble is a remarkable focal point in the room. I am honored that this painting was chosen to enhance such exquisite surroundings.

~Wishing you the spirit of Christmas. May it last year round.~


Open Edition Prints and Note Cards of Season's Greetings are available at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

Melody Phaneuf is an award-winning artist known for her evocative still life allegories. Phaneuf's paintings have been exhibited at Galerie Herouet in Paris, The National Arts Club in New York City, and were included in a traveling exposition in Japan. She is a regular exhibitor at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.

Further Reading~

• Christmas Stories
• Christmas Traditions
• Create a Focal Point in Any Room
• Decorate To Create Focal Points In Your Home

Winter Heart ~ Creating A Mood Of Serenity

Snow.

Swaddled in blankets, I am immobile but warm. Snowflakes shattering on my nose linger on the tips of my eyelashes. I am hypnotized with the serene activity of watching interweaving movement. The world is quiet, gentle, pristine.

I am a winter baby, born into a world of snow. First impressions persist. Childhood feelings echo from the painting, Village In Snow.

Feeling is the heart of aesthetic living. It is useful to understand the relationship between what we see and how we feel. In Village In Snow, the intervals between light and dark, called value, are narrow because of the diffused light of a cloudy sky. The color is neutralized, just a hint of chroma in silvery grays. The subtlety of tight intervals of value and color quiets us. We become attentive, much like we do to hear someone whispering in a noisy room.

The mood evoked by Village In Snow is one of attentive serenity. This painting is ideal in expression for an office, conference room, library, or sitting room. The savvy decorator knows how to design tranquility by choosing cool, neutral colors and subtle accents. The artist understands the mechanics of mood.

Melody Phaneuf is a fine artist who believes that everyone deserves to live aesthetically. Her winter paintings of Gloucester, MA can be seen at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury St, Boston. Melody welcomes studio visits are welcome at Fenway Studios in Boston.

Village In Snow, Oil Painting by Melody Phaneuf, 30 x 25

Open Edition Prints and Note Cards of Village In Snow are available at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop. Free Shipping until December 31st.


More reading:

Mood Lighting
HGTV- Create A Mood With Color
Psychology of Color
Symbolism of Snow

Tondo~Expression of Abundance and Harmony

Round. Golden. Textural. Resonant. These qualities combined in Tondo to emanate a sense of harmony and abundance. Sweeping arcs dominate the movement upward; each line and shape plays its part in the perpetual volley of motion. Variations of golden color provide warmth and a hint of harvest time.

The objects chosen relate to hearth and home. This painting was designed to nourish many levels: visual, emotional, spiritual. Tondo is tribute to well-being and gratitude.

Melody Phaneuf is a Boston artist working at historic Fenway Studios. Her paintings can be viewed at The Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury St.

Tondo, 20 x 16 oil, private collection

Tondo is available in Open Edition Prints and Note Cards at MelodyTheArtist.com/shop

A perfect Hostess gift.

Spirit Of The Season

How do you capture the spirit of a season? The color contrast in Season of Light shows the warmness of the orange sunlight against cool, crisp atmosphere of a manganese sky. Naked trees stretch and yawn, ready for a long nap. Jagged cast shadows lead us into the scene, where rooftops continue the angular movement and create an upbeat rhythm, much like the Autumn of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Season of Light is a typical New England coastal scene, with its stonewalls and white houses, ideal backdrop for all that is autumn. Soon, the red chimneys will swirl smoke and stand out vibrantly against the white New England snows.


Season of Light by Melody Phaneuf
Oil Painting, 30 x 25

Open Edition Prints, Tiles, and Note Cards make great gifts.
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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.

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Fortune’s Wheel, In Memory of September 11

It is August of 1997 and I am returning from an exhibition of my paintings in Paris. It is the fulfillment of a dream and I am heady, making great plans the way one does when still young and unscathed. I couldn’t have painted this at that particular moment because I was brimming with joy.

I call it Fortune’s Wheel. It is about sudden and violent change, the kind of event where one is irrevocably transformed. It is a self-portrait in symbols; a cathartic detachment from what immediately becomes the past. The jester hangs upside down by one foot, echoing the Hanged man of the Tarot. Like breadcrumbs leading out of the woods, three cards, the Tower, Devil, and Three of Swords leave a trail of clues. An ominous black veil obscures the exhibition poster yoking the jester to the wheel where once fresh roses ascend. Flameless candle, well-worn and treasured map of France, postcard, and coins are strewn. The hourglass sand is running out, the duality of light bewilders, disorder rules.

Fast forward to 2001. It is a crisp and beautifully sunny morning in September, emblem of early autumn in New England. I am working with a handful of students studying anatomy, looking out the window, thinking we really should be out landscape painting. It is shortly before 9:00. The first plane is flying into the towers.

We are changed। We were still young and unscathed. We were heady, brimming with joy, and could not have imagined in advance of that particular moment, this altered world.

Fortune’s Wheel by Melody Phaneuf, 40 x 48 Oil Painting
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