07/16/2026
Hello everyone, new and longtime folks who are following along! I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for being here on my art journey.
I’ve had quite a few new people pop up here lately, so I figured I would give a quick (re) intro. I’m Melanie, an abstract artist and I live and work in Hamilton Ontario. I grew up in (midtown?) Toronto (shoutout to St. Clair West) and moved to Montreal when I was 21 to work at as a fashion designer for various Canadian fast fashion brands, you might remember the iconic Le Chateau? I was in Montreal for 12 years, soaking up all of the best of design, art, food that the city has to offer, while continuing my fashion design career. I’ve always been a maker, an artist and someone who has loved working with my hands and creating tangible things. I’ve drawn, painted, made clothes and jewelry on and off for my whole life, but in 2020, when so many of us were re-evaluating our lives, I realized that a regular painting practice was really missing from mine.
For a variety of reasons, my partner and I decided to move to Hamilton, ON during the early days of the pandemic and I decided to try abstract painting for the first time. Previously I had always dabbled in figurative and portrait work, but abstract felt like a style that could be meditative and therapeutic in a time that felt so uncertain. Gradually, I started sharing my work online and exhibiting in shows, as the world opened back up. Every time I hit a hurdle of not knowing what I was doing, I would find YouTube tutorials and reach out to other artists online. I also learned what a fantastic and truly unparalleled art community I had moved to in Hamilton. Support from fellow artists and arts supporters in person and online really helped me grow my practice into what it is today.
This is a long winded way of saying thank you so much for being here and encouraging me on this journey. Your likes, comments, advice, art purchases and overall support allows me to keep painting. If you’re thinking about getting into art-making, or want to know more about my journey, don’t hesitate to reach out!
