Melissa J. Stone (°1957, Van Nuys, California, USA) is an artist who works in digital media.
My work as a fine artist and illustration artist started when my spouse suggested to me that I should look at entering a show that was going to be held on my 57th birthday in San Francisco. That show was "The Murray Affair" a Tribute Show of artwork about Bill Murray at SF Public Works on August 8, 2014. You can see that piece on the web site here. From that point on, I have been exploring various ways of expressing my point-of-view in a more personal way than my design work.
My artwork directly responds to the surrounding environment and uses everyday experiences (and daydreams) as a starting point. Often these are framed instances that would go unnoticed in their original context. By focusing on learning a new pathway, I challenge myself by expanding my digital techniques. I try to approach a wide scale of subjects in a multi-layered way, and I like to involve the viewer in a way that is sometimes physical. I believe in the idea of function following form in a work.
My works are notable for their visually tactile nature. This is of great importance and bears witness to continued craftsmanship. With a conceptual approach, I try to increase the dynamic between audience and artwork by objectifying emotions and investigating the duality that develops through different interpretations. By using traditional printing materials, I find that I can blur the line between fine art and illustration and give my viewer an experience, not just a viewing.
My work never shows the complete structure. This is the result of the fact that the I can imagine my own interpretation without being hindered by the historical reality. All of my artwork begins in Adobe Illustrator™. After many hours, those files export into Adobe Photoshop™ files where experimentation with color, texture, & context occur and more layers are added. My Adobe Photoshop™ files for each of my works often exceed 100 layers. Melissa Stone currently lives and works in Sonoma.
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Please visit my Fine Art page here, my Illustration page here, and my design pages here and here. And please explore the rest of my portfolio too! Please use the Contact Form if you want to talk about art and how you would like to see more of mine or if you have a design job you would me to work on.