“Journey”: Debut Solo Show by Melanie Cormack-Hicks. Chapel Arts Cheltenham.

An exploration of the transient landscape; marking Melanie’s journey from art teacher to artist.

“Journey”: Debut Solo Show by Melanie Cormack-Hicks. Chapel Arts Cheltenham.

An exploration of the transient landscape; marking Melanie’s journey from art teacher to artist.

CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire. Melanie Cormack-Hicks' debut solo show at Chapel Arts Cheltenham will launch her career as a fulltime artist. The exhibition will run from 1st to the 24th of September, 2017 at the Chapel Arts Gallery, Cheltenham.

Melanie’s artwork showcases the diversity and beauty of rural landscapes and the energy and intensity of seascapes. It will include smaller works produced en plein air as well as large studio-based pieces.

Melanie’s transition from art teacher to landscape painter has been one of self-discovery based on her creative principles both as a teacher and art practitioner. A Fine Art Painting Degree, taken in the mid-90s in Cheltenham, allowed her to find her artistic voice; the narrative for this voice has changed considerably over the years. The journey of discovering her new visual language has been both rewarding and surprising. Teaching for 21 years afforded Melanie a diversity of inspirational experiences. Her time igniting creativity in others in the classroom led to the increasing need to reawaken her own practice, and so she began painting in her studio, at home in Stroud, two days a week.

Melanie has been building a body of work over the last two years, undertaking regular commissions for a variety of clients. The landscapes she produces are often influenced by her local area, which affords her close-proximity to open fields, wooded areas and the River Severn. Regular visits to Devon and Scotland provide diversity. Melanie’s connection to both the landscape and seascape seem plentiful and ever present.

The preview evening will be held on Friday the 1st of September from 6.30pm until 8.00pm. The show runs until the 24th of September 2017. Gallery opening hours are: Tue – Sun 10am to 4pm, or any other time by appointment.

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Notes to Editors:

I would love the opportunity to engage with press to promote my debut show. Please feel free to contact me for interview regarding my story; Transition from Art Teacher to Artist; or if you would like to cover the Preview Evening. Do contact me if you would like more images of my work.

Press are warmly invited to the preview evening on the 1st of September 6.30 until 8. There will be a glass of bubbly put in your hand and friends are welcome too.

“The creation of studies and paintings en plein air offers opportunities for looser explorations of colour and mark making. These smaller paintings are created on location, often requiring only a few additional marks and a lick of varnish once back in the studio. Larger paintings created in the studio take these techniques further. The addition and removal of multiple layers gives each piece a sense of history; in turn this process allows each painting to find its own strength, its own voice.”

Contact artistmelcormackhicks@gmail.com or 07807157388

Further images and details of my exhibition can be found on
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