How did you come to find abstract was the expression in your voice?
“I think I found it before I even knew what abstract art was. When I was little, my mom would always say “Color inside the lines.” But if it said blue, I’d make it a green, and now my mom’s like, “Of course you’re an abstract artist!” And I love that it’s messy, and it’s fun. I think the trick to abstract work is know when to stop. I can express myself through my art – through my painting more than anything else.”
How does it feel to create your work?
“I go into the process just layering on the textures and the colors and then I start to see the things that I love about the piece. I look for the movement, I look for the color, how the colors grab on the texture. It is a process, and sometimes I don’t get it right the first twenty times, but finally it starts to really speak to me. It’s kind of meditative. But there again, you have to know when to stop, you have to know what you’re looking for.”
What are you looking for as an artist?
“I’m inspired by interior design, by the wallpapers, fabrics… I try to get the piece to where it stands out in a home or a room, but also blends. I think that the textures and the colors add the punch, and the softness really makes it go with any décor.”
Why do you think art elevates our homes?
“Interior design, when it is done well, is beautiful - and art gives that focal point to bring it all together. When people ask me to paint, I’m very lucky that they trust me to bring it together.”
What does home mean to you?
“Home means memories. I love the feel of a home – warm and inviting, elegant, yet you can sit on the sofa. I love having a home that people can live in. It’s memories… and all the beauty that you love is put into your home. Every piece of furniture, really, everything in my house has a story.”
How long have you been a professional artist?
“I moved to Atlanta 25 years ago, and I have been painting for 18 years. I graduated with a marketing degree, but I loved interior design. I interviewed with Glyn Weakly Interiors, and I worked there for 10 years - I managed the store and did interior design. Then I went out on my own, painting, and it’s been fantastic.”
What is your process?
“First, I mix the paints on my palettes, and I use cardboard for my palettes. I usually start with a dark brown or black and then I go in and lighten it up with the color and then I lighten up everything and soften it with the white.
My big pieces, I paint abstracts, but in my smaller pieces, I sometimes make them more representative of something. I love when people come up and tell me what they see or how they feel when they see my work.”
What are clients looking for when they commission your art for their home?
“They tell me what pieces they like of mine, they give me fabric and paint swatches, and pictures of the room, and then once I get to a certain point, we discuss what they like about it, what they don’t like about it, and then I continue working on it until they love it.”
What do you think differentiates your style from other abstract artists?
“I think it goes back to interior design – my color palettes, my texture, and the flow of how I put in the dark spaces underneath, and the white space that I create that helps your eye kind of move around the piece.
Some of my friends who are real estate agents or interior designers, they say, “Oh, I saw a piece of yours today.” They can recognize that it’s mine. That’s huge to me. That’s such a compliment. There is a lot of abstract art out there.”
To learn more, visit melissapaynebaker.com or Huff Harrington Gallery in Buckhead.
“Home means memories… all the beauty that you love is put into your home. Everything in my house has a story.”
“I look for the movement, I look for the color, how the colors grab on the texture. It is a process, and sometimes I don’t get it right the first twenty times, but finally it starts to really speak to me. It’s kind of meditative.”
