A portfolio can be telling in a lot of different ways. Where a person has been and the accomplishments made can be like reading an autobiography. To many artists, what happened decades ago created feelings, unleashed new adventures and allowed them to realize their true calling.

     

     Michael Melson of Absarokee, Montana, certainly fits the mold of someone that grew up in the Wild West, but that’s not where his story began. Michael grew up in Bartow County, Tennessee. At the age of 9, his parents realized his passion for art and entered one of his oil paintings into an adult art contest and he won! Maybe that was the motivation that artist Melson needed to forge straight ahead into art.

Michael’s work has been described as ultra-realistic ink work to impressionist mosaic. The delicate balance and exact line usage brings nature to life. His shadowing and grainy backgrounds make you forget that color is absent.

     “From the modern cowboy and ranch life, to the historic plains Indiana, a beautiful story is always waiting to be told.”

 

He went on to study classical painting/drawing at Harris School of Art in Franklin, Tennessee, earn a BS degree in education at Cumberland College, and received his BFA in graphic design at Middle Tennessee State University. His vast education landed him a job in the music industry as a staff artist. His love of drawing and painting horses landed him commissioned work. You would have thought that this would be the end of the story, but it was just the beginning.

As the technical age began replacing talented artists with computer generated graphics, Melson made a dramatic turn in his career. He joined the Acworth Fire Department and became a full time firefighter. For years he relished his time saving lives while practicing art in his spare time.

Michael Melson retired from the fire department in 2017 and went in search of those stories to create into art. A member of the American Plains Artists, his contribution to the Absarokee art community is second to none, where he also teaches graphite drawing classes.

Represented by Frame Hut and Gallery in Billings, Montana, more on this Western artist at: https://www.michaelmelson.com.