the happiest color





this piece was in the last issue of “the palette” magazine where christopher schink wrote the following....
"washington state artist, susan melrath creates a warm, quiet image by stylizing her subject into long, flowing shapes filled with subtle, subjective color. she makes no attempt to describe the surrounding space. the geometric background shapes serve only as a contrast to the flowing, curvilinear figures. by gesture, shape and color she conveys her intent. 
we don't know who these people are but we know how they feel. “
when i'm painting, i don't think about the meaning of the color or the meaning of anything, really. i work on a gut level...not in an analytic frame of mind. but when completed, it's always fun to take it apart and find meaning. yellow shines with optimism and happiness, carrying the promise of a positive future. that feels right for this painting, inspired by a photo of my son and me when he was little. 
now you know who those people are!





safe harbor


"birthday" is hanging at the port angeles fine art center as part of the show titled "safe harbor." jake seniuk has once again done an amazing job with this thematic exhibition 
which runs through october 10th.

the show uses port angeles's role as a harbor community to serve as the vehicle for exploring a broader interpretation of shelter and safety. here what was written about and my contribution...

"SUSAN MELRATH’s (Redmond) style of reductive figuration wrests emotion from her subjects with bold volumes of color and pattern rather than with descriptive detail. In the safe harbor of a birthday party, her faceless celebrants are expressions of archetypal roles in the nuclear family. That is not a specific child readying to blow out eight candles on the cake but the embodiment of unconditional acceptance."

why can't i ever write anything that insightful about my work? my husband has been asking for years why there are no faces on my figures and i'm not really sure. now i know - they are expressions of archetypal roles in the nuclear family. so there.