A COMMITMENT TO GROW

Painter Melinda K. Hall, who has long delighted legions of collectors with her quirky and witty vision of a world slightly askew, is determined to continue her personal commitment to develop her artistic vocabulary. "I have been really trying to broaden my view of what my paintings can mean," Hall confides. "I have to remember that first and foremost I am an artist who is looking for the very best way to express myself. I am really centered on that right now. I've just got to keep myself focused on finding these new directions. You have to be very vigilant about doing that."

The painter's recent works are more intriguing and enigmatic. Hall describes her newer paintings as mysterious, a mood she plans to explore further. "I want to add a little bit more mystery to my work, where my personal 'symbology' is not totally evident," she explains. Where a central figure used to dominate each painting, Hall is putting more emphasis on the images on the periphery and the edge.

The new direction is in part due to a change in Hall's life. She and her husband moved from their home in Tesuque to a smaller residence, which they built not far from the capitol. Stunning in its simplicity, the new residence represents a shift. "We took a small space and made it work," Hall states. "I'm taking each individual part of a painting and making it interesting, so it works with the whole."

Attempts to stretch her artistic soul are characteristic of Hall, who began to study French at the same time she took up painting. "I thought one fed into the other. Just learning that vocabulary and the structure of the sentence was exactly the same thing I was doing oncanvas." she notes, adding that she has always been a person who has done her own thing."This is a natural progression," Hall adds.

As she prepares for her July show at our gallery Hall is confident that her vigilant commitment, coupled with hard work, will pay off. "There is no greater high than pulling off a painting that really says: Wow, I've just massaged this into something that I think expresses what I was trying to get out. Where it came from exactly you're not sure, but it is a high. I don't think anything is better than that." by Sara Ford