What is your name: Melanie Sinclair
Do you have a formal art education or are you a self taught artist: I have a Master of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from the University of North Texas.
What is the style of your pieces: I express myself through a range of incomplete characters (literally incomplete) who symbolize the continual process of growth we all experience, and inhabit my internal landscape. I subscribe to no particular style, I focus on textures and points of view.
What is the medium in which you work:
What started you on your path as an artist: The first time I remember drawing was with my mother, and my exposure to Asian art came very young through my father. Later, it was the advice and support of a graphic designer named Elizabeth Ford, and the underground publishers of Dragon Tree Press, Ben and Mary Ezzell, who really pushed me down the path. I have illustration credits in some of those early gaming books.
What is one of the most important things that art has brought to your life: A greater willingness to take chances and the freedom to develop my own artistic identity.
What is your favorite genre of art besides the one you work in: I enjoy many different forms of art, I really enjoyed all of the media I have had a chance to work in. I do seem to prefer representational art more often than abstract.
Do you have art showings, and if so what are they typically like: I have participated in several group showings here in Houston, and had one solo exhibition at Lone Star College-North Harris, that was their best attended Artist in Residence exhibition at the time.
Do you have a certain set of clothes you make art in: I paint in whatever I tend to be wearing, and that has worked out well for me unless I am dressed really nice. I do wear nitrile gloves while I work though, my hands are what get messy, and I do well as long as I remember not to touch my face.
What has been the most frustrating part of being an artist? Studio space or lack thereof after graduation.
What is your favorite sandwich of all time: Gyros! (Semone) I love love Gyros
Has this year brought about any changes in your work, and if so what are they: Yes, I am working in a smaller scale and embracing watercolor for the time being, the subject matter has not changed, but my method has.
Who is your favorite artist alive or dead: I will always love and fervently admire Frida Kahlo.
What is the most moving piece of artwork that you have seen in person: This is really hard to quantify, there have been so many, the best way to be moved by art is to see it in person though, slides or the viewing work online just does not measure up. I will give you one that stands out for me as I write this, in 2006 I visited the Ft. Worth Modern and outside was a very large freestanding sculpture by Richard Serra. It was one of his large curved sheet metal pieces that must have weighed tons and was as tall as the museum. The group I was with walked inside and I was, of course, impressed with the scale and the thought of being crushed by all this heavy metal as I was meant to be, however we also enjoyed the echo created by the inner cavernous space so a sense of playfulness was evoked as well.
Do you have any animals, and what do they think of your work: I have three cats all who love to run and play, freely knocking canvases over when I have them packed up and waiting by the door to travel. Is that a comment on my work? I will let you decide.
Do you have any upcoming exhibitions you would like to share with us:
www.melanie.sinclair.com
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I have been a great admirer of Melanie Sinclair's work for many years. She captures the spirit of "interconnected freedom" we are feeling more and more on our Beloved planet. Her time has come.
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