Melanie
Fain back to
artists page
Melanie
is an award winning artist living in
the Hill Country of Texas on seven
wooded acres where she is inspired
to create images that she knows and
observes every day.
She offers her patrons an
intimate view of the natural world,
with emphasis on birds, botanicals,
and insects. She translates her
sensitive perceptions into elegant,
hand-colored etchings and
watercolors, which find broad appeal
among naturalists and sportsmen
alike.
Melanie designs
her compositions using the ‘less is
more’ philosophy giving her work an
Asian feel and inviting the
description, ‘visual haiku’.
Melanie’s work is shown at America’s
most distinguished wildlife art
shows including the Southeastern
Wildlife Exposition, Easton
Waterfowl Festival, NatureWorks, and
Plantation Wildlife Art Festival for
whom she was Feature Artist in 2001.
Judy Watt of the Post & Courier in
Charleston, South Carolina writes of
a Southeastern Wildlife Expo, “A
personal favorite was Melanie Fain’s
copper etchings. The sepia tones
underlying muted, yet rich, colors
were an interesting counterpoint to
some of the larger-than-life pieces
that characterize many wildlife
artists’ work.” Accolades include
the prestigious Birds in Art and Art
of the Animal Kingdom exhibits.
Melanie uses
solarplate to create her original
fine art etchings. The process of
solar etching uses a steel plate
covered with a light sensitized
polymer material. The plate is
created by placing a transparency on
the plate and exposing it to the
sun. It is then developed in water.
When the plate is finished it is
hand inked and wiped, leaving ink in
the areas etched by the sun. A high
quality, acid-free paper is applied
to the plate and they are run
through a flatbed press where the
pressure causes the ink to be
transferred to the paper creating a
mirror-image print of the worked
plate. As the printing process is
repeated, the prints are
hand-colored with watercolor, signed
and numbered with the impression
number over the total number in the
edition. Editions are limited
because repeated printing wears down
the plate surface. Generally, ten
percent of the edition is designated
to Artist Proofs. These impressions
are used to ensure the quality of
the numbered pieces.
Melanie’s work can
be found in private collections
worldwide including the Texas Tech
University Health Sciences Center
Medical School and the Thomasville
Cultural Center. Corporate
collectors include Southwestern
Bell, King Ranch, and Wells Fargo
Bank.
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Flame Skimmer
Etching & watercolor
10 1/4" x 4 1/2", $275
Shadows
3 plate etching & watercolor, 7 1/4"
x 6"
$350
Best Friend
Etching, 6 1/2" x 6 1/2", $225
Chickadee
3 plate etching & watercolor, 5" x 3
1/2", $200
Scissortail
2 plate etching & pastel
7" x 12", $425
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