Some people categorize good and evil, right and wrong simply as black and white. Melissa's survival method is not much different. She seeks to define the world in a bolder pallet. Through the blending and clashing of oils the perfect compliments can appear and answer the problems she has before her. She paints to learn more about herself. She paints to grieve and she paints to grow. The dynamics of relationships and the complexity of emotions are easier for her to comprehend and explain through the flowing colors, lines and textures she creates.

What color are you? What makes your color change? These are the questions that plague her mind. Melissa views relationships and events in terms of the colors and textures they evoke. In life, as well as art, we get lost in detail and lose sight of the big picture. Melissa simplifies the body into objects and lines because it is more important to her that you feel them.

In essence these are portraits of emotion. Her inspiration comes from the triumphs and tribulations she witnesses everyday and her goal is to share those experiences with you.

Melissa Prior is originally from Hutchinson, Minnesota, but has been living in Tacoma, Washington since 2006. Her work is primarily commissioned based but she is working on several pieces to expand her inventory.

Melissa has also been the resident artist at Cork! A Wine Bar in Tacoma since 2007.