<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2e7kJ8_1GmOzdD200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2e7kJ8_1GmOzdD200" width="958" height="1280" ></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=010L00_1GmOzdD200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=010L00_1GmOzdD200" width="300" height="225" ></figure>Realist painter Lisa Melillo works in both oils and pastels – please don’t make her choose.“I love them both and enjoy bouncing back and forth between the two,” she explained. “There are many similarities between the approaches to painting in these two mediums, and both are great for developing the eye and technique, whether it’s mark making in pastels or brushwork in oils.” Previously she had worked in watercolor for many years.The Forked River resident’s painting of a cocker spaniel, titled “Bedroom Eyes,” won the first-place ribbon at the Pine Shores Art Association’s first-ever “Anything Goes” exhibition last month and was purchased by a fellow Pine Shores artist. Melillo dedicated herself to art full time when she retired in 2020. In terms of art education, she said, she has consistently taken classes with exceptional teaching artists, including in-person workshops with nationally and internationally recognized oil and pastel painters.Belonging to an art community, she said, is “essential to my artistic growth and development.”<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4DfRa7_1GmOzdD200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4DfRa7_1GmOzdD200" width="916" height="1280" >Melillo was juried into the nonprofit Oil Painters of America many years ago and is a signature member of the Pastel Society of New Jersey; she is part of the Lacey Arts Community, “a wonderful group that offers classes through Lacey Recreation as well as exhibit opportunities for the Lacey community at large.” She participates in art shows and classes at Pine Shores and is a member of The Artists Circle, a new group that meets weekly at the Ocean County Artists Guild in Island Heights and “focuses on studio time, critiques and sharing knowledge and information with fellow artists,” she explained. “Inspiration comes from many sources, but mostly from fellow artists,” she continued. “I love following artists on Instagram and seeing the amazing creativity that’s out there in the art world. Of course, I love to visit museums and go to local art shows, as well. Working alongside other artists, in classes or studio time, is also tremendously inspiring.”As an animal lover, Melillo said, her favorite subjects to paint have paws, hooves or feathers. “As a pet portrait artist, nothing makes me happier than capturing the unique personality of every animal I paint. Seeing the excitement and joy (and often happy tears) that my portraits bring to pet parents is the best feeling.”Equine art is a big part of her artistic practice, she added. <img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0o16Ui_1GmOzdD200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0o16Ui_1GmOzdD200" width="1422" height="1496" >“I was a horse-crazy, barn rat kid and drew horses pretty much incessantly.” For a pet commission, her creative process tends to center on interpreting a reference photo. When supplied photos are not the best quality or have unattractive backgrounds, Melillo said, it’s her job to creatively enhance them – “in a way that remains true to the original photo but elevates it, from an artistic standpoint.” Although she usually doesn’t present her pet portraits to clients in person, she gets “wonderful emails, texts or social media comments telling me how much they love their portraits. It’s truly what motivates me to do what I do.”She is also inspired by the beauty of nature, and “I enjoy painting landscapes and still lifes,” she continued. As a fairly recent transplant to Ocean County from Hunterdon County, Melillo has enjoyed discovering local landscapes, quite different from the rolling hills and barns of northern New Jersey. For landscapes, she said, she likes to focus on light and shadow and on “different color temperatures and values, the juxtaposition of cool colors and warm colors and how dark or light they are.”<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0sGLio_1GmOzdD200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0sGLio_1GmOzdD200" width="988" height="1280" >Since moving south, Melillo is pleased to be represented at two galleries on the Island, Art &amp; Décor at Surf City and Art Haven, in Beach Haven. Her interest in art was a born trait, but her style “is always morphing and changing as I learn to see shapes and colors differently,” she said. “It emerges organically rather than trying to force myself to paint a certain way.”In drawing and painting she finds pure, single-minded joy, she said. Even music causes distraction.“When I’m immersed in creating, I focus intensely and time flies by. I’m in my happy place, where I think about nothing but what I’m working on at that moment,” she said. “Because I’m so focused, I <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=27TOig_1GmOzdD200" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=27TOig_1GmOzdD200" width="300" height="238" ></figure>need to force myself to take breaks and limit the time I spend at the easel,” she confessed, touching on a relatable experience: It’s all too easy for an artist to get lost in the world they create, especially when the studio is comfortable and well stocked. Melillo described her art workspace at home as “a spacious, light and airy loft studio.”“I’m lucky to have so much space,” she said, “and I truly need it, as I’m kind of an art supply junkie. I’ve been better lately – mainly because I’ve learned that I need to stay out of art stores. I’m like a kid in a candy shop.”— Victoria Ford</div></body>

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Realist painter Lisa Melillo works in both oils and pastels – please don’t make her choose. “I love them both and enjoy bouncing back and forth between the two,” she explained. “There are many similarities between the approaches to painting in these two mediums, and both are great for developing the eye and technique, whether it’s mark making in pastels or brushwork in oils.” Previously she had worked in watercolor for many years.

For Painter of Animals and Nature, Realism Is Where Life Meets Art

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Realist painter Lisa Melillo works in both oils and pastels – please don’t make her choose. “I love them both and enjoy bouncing back and forth between the

For Painter of Animals and Nature, Realism Is Where Life Meets Art

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