Biography

I am Melva and I was born in Houston, Texas. Growing up as an only child I spent hours drawing trees, tiny botanicals and my own original character, a sweet little clown “Smitty.” I am an illustrative artist, watercolor painter and textile artist. I also work with other media often in lavender color waves.

As a little girl I attended a summer church camp where I became fascinated by an older girl’s drawings of tiny flowers in fine detail with repeat patterns of leaves and vines on napkins. I came home from that camp forever inspired to draw florals, trees and landscapes. In my teens I began creating drawings for my friends, classmates and family using creative lettering embellished with tiny florals and in high school I was one of the few girls to take drafting. My father was a draftsman and engineer and I was intrigued by his detailed mechanical drawings, and I developed a passion for working with pen and ink and a love for baroque ornamental architecture and imagery. I also had a special interest in dance and after graduating high school I attended San Jacinto Junior College studying both drawing and dance where I was a member of the dance team, and obtained an Associate of Arts Degree in Graphic Communications and Commercial Art.

After becoming a member of the Professional NFL Houston Oiler’s Derrick Dolls Cheerleaders, I accepted a position as an artist / draftsman at Brown & Root, Inc. becoming the only female in the Art Department at that time. I eventually left the industry to focus on my family and children. I continued to provide freelance work such as a mural on the ceiling of the Houston Live Recording Studios in the Galleria Houston and numerous other commissions including pen and ink architectural renderings of commercial and residential properties. I use the stippling technique in many of my drawings using a fine point mechanical pen and also i often work in black and white while often adding a watercolor wash. This was the beginning of what became my true illustrative technique.

Following a move to Nashville, I continued working as a freelance illustrative artist and also began consulting for design projects. It was then that I developed a love for painting on many other forms of media including antiques, linens, heirloom clothing and vintage speciality collector’s items. My unique artistic style began to emerge between realism and surrealism and was often vintage inspired while often modern while combining elements of both. I loved experimenting to develop my imagery and techniques on surfaces other than canvas and paper. Eventually, I was deemed an “alchemist” by one of my professors.

I credit my son Johnny for encouraging me to return to college. In 2016 I graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Studio Art with a Concentration in Drawing. While at Texas State I expanded my skills while experiencing other forms of art, and collaborated on various projects and creating designs with  many talented friends in the artistic Austin community. This experience allowed me to continue to use many unconventional forms of media and processes, and I evolved into a skilled mixed media textile artist. I created and designed a recognizable body of whimsical works using processes such as using ink I made from blackberries to dye and paint on vintage linens, stitching on linen canvases, ice dying vintage wedding dresses and creating vintage inspired imagery on rag paper.

The subjects and themes of my work still exist in both realism and surrealism, and are all inspired by my faith in and love for Christ, my love for my children, trees, botanicals, my own childhood memories, and vintage and baroque imagery. I am currently illustrating a new ethereal pen and ink watercolor series, fulfilling commissions and I am soon beginning writing and illustrating a very special book. Throughout my career as an artist, I have enjoyed working with many different media and processes but my passion still lies in pen and ink, stipple, and watercolors.