Melina Sapiano. Nerdy Oil Painter. Oilmancer

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Melina was born and raised in Southern California. Drawing as a child, she earned a BFA in Graphic Design, then found her passion by sharing oil painting techniques and knowledge at comic cons and art events. Her works follow the movement of realism with a dash of impressionism and a large peppering of geeky subjects. From Thor to Star Wars and Warcraft, the Astral heavens especially inspire her. The fantastical nature of galaxies and clouds are a continual theme. When coupled with a human figure or the organic such as flowers, the soft nature of these subjects dull the cold harshness of space while not dimming the wondrous colours or chaotic beauty in the background. Melina’s themes are mythical and rooted in fantasy and science fiction, focusing on the beauty of nature and the human figure. 

Melina uses oils in the classical rendition, but with subtle twists. With the preferred medium of walnut oil, Melina’s strokes have the qualities of impasto. Using unethical methods of toothbrushes and finger painting, Melina is able to achieve unusual textures which revel in their chaotic nature. Using layer upon layer, otherworldly scenes are played out, creating mythical fog and spell effects as lethal or healing as they are beautiful.

By using the theme of Art Nouveau, elegant beauty, fanciful shapes, a circular border coupled with flowers and drapery embrace figures prevalent in comic books, movies, and literature. The artists that inspire her continually are Alphonse Mucha, Caravaggio, and Rosa Bonheur including recent ones such as Frank Frazetta and Ant Lucia. She enjoys gaming, reading and comic books which displays vividly in her oil pieces. Melina paints various personal projects, debuts at comic cons across the country while maintaining a commission clientele base.

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