My latest Work

                                                               A LITTLE FURTHER

       The above painting is acrylic on canvas 30"x40" and is a paint over.   It originally was a piece that I did back in 2008 and I never liked it.   It was too generic and stiff.   Recently I decided to do something with some of my older paintings like painting over them to bring them up to the level of work I'm doing now.  I dug out my old reference photos and selected the better parts of several of them to re-energize the painting.
        I selected trees, colors, design elements and altered the mood of the scene.  I put more distance in the background and jazzed up the color.  The only thing left of the original is the signature.  I'm sorry I didn't photograph it before I started because I forgot that I had lost the original in a computer crash.  I may tweak it a bit more...we'll see.

     This is also a paint over.   I mainly softened the trees and put in a more interesting sky.  It still seems a little unfinished.  Being acrylic I find the paint texture is not as interesting as it would be in oil.  Generally I add drama in my interpretations of a scene.  This one is definitely restrained.  Yet to be titled it is 10x18 on wc board.




    


These next 5 paintings were done at the 4TH ANNUAL PLEIN-AIR BARTOW in Bartow, FL.

Bridge 1,  9x12 oil

This bridge was in Mary Holland Park and as usual with my first painting it took me forever to decide what I was going to paint.  Some people don't like this type of composition with all that space in the bottom 3 fifths of the rectangle.  But I do and so thats the way I painted it.  All that space emphasizes the subject.  Notice I graded the value of the grass from the distance to the foreground.

Banana Red,  9x12

Bridge 2,  9x12

UPSTAIRS  8x10

     This little piece, UPSTAIRS, was done sitting down which is unusual for me.  I had been standing, like I usually do both in studio and out doors the last two days but needed a rest.  Or maybe it's age catching up with me.  I did this for the quick draw but it ended up winning a prize in the main show.  UPSTAIRS and BANANA RED are currently in the show at the Bartow Courthouse and the 3 bridge paintings are in Carolyn's Gallery in Bartow about 3 blocks away.




     This next group of paintings I did as demos for the
FLORIDA WATERCOLOR SOCIETY 2010 Annual show, Convention and Trade show.

The first two were for the trade show on Friday and the general demos on Saturday. 

TWILIGHT REFLECTIONS 3,  15x29

TWILIGHT REFLECTIONS 4,  29x15

TARPON SPRINGS DOCK 11x1

This next group of acrylic paintings I did as demos for the:

FLORIDA WATERCOLOR SOCIETY 2010 Annual show, Convention and Trade show.

The first two were for the trade show on Friday and the general demos on Saturday. 
These next two I did as demos in my workshop down on the docks in Tarpon Springs.   Fortunately one of my students in Sarasota liked this one enough to buy it.

AT REST 9x12

This old wreck was on the left side of the above painting.  I invented the sky color simply because I liked it.

CAPTN. SCOTT B 11x14

Now this one I painted for myself after my students left.  When the light failed I finished it in my studio a few days later.  Good reference photos are indispensable.







I will be teaching 3 sessions of my ongoing classes at ART CENTER SARASOTA.  I call my class The Acrylic Cafe.  They are offered several times a year.

JOSEPH MELANÇON - Acrylic Café        
3 sessions  Dec 2, 9 & 16   Thu  
10am - 1pm     $85 / $95

My classes start again on January 6  for six weeks

Thur 10 am to 1 pm
call 941-365-2032 for more info and to register
 My Studio 941-924-9889

My next demo at the ART CENTER SARASOTA

Dec 5, 2010  2-4 pm


I'll be posting more stuff soon.