When thinking of British artists, the names that first spring to mind are William Blake, David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Banksy and Tracey Emin. All of these fantastic creatives were unique and exceptionally talented in their own way, whether they did portraits, sculptures, installations or landscapes.
One painter who is also making a name for herself in the British arts scene is Melanie Comber, thanks to her abstract compositions and incredible landscapes.
Comber was born in 1970 in London before embarking on an art career by 20 years old. In just four years, she completed a foundation diploma, a BA and MA in fine art painting.
At the same time, she began winning awards for her impressive paintings, including the Nat West Art Prize in London.
Thanks to her unique style of using different ratios of oil paint and pigment, as well as carving patterns into her pieces to create a 3D effect, it wasn’t long before she was exhibiting her artwork.
Her first showcase was in 2001, and she has carried on producing fantastic displays ever since. Most of her exhibits are based in the UK, while she has also had work shown in Zurich, Miami, Siberia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and New York, with her matte textured paintings having global appeal.
Commenting on her style, Comber said: “My intention is to create works that allude to an experience of ‘place’, incorporating personal associations and visual notations absorbed during a designated ‘visit’. Attempts to create monuments of emotional experience.”
She added: “I feel a constant need to challenge the perception of a drawn line and its projected depiction of a landscape within the painted space.”
Her interesting technique, which includes dusting powdery pigment on the top of her paint, makes her pieces look like abstracted landscapes. Many could be scenes of beaches, or even the surface of the moon, conjuring up ethereal images.
An article in Aesthetica Magazine regarding her exhibition at the London Art Fair in 2021 said: “The texture in this work is outstanding. It feels like you could just touch it. I think it conjures up a lot of emotion that spans the range of human sentiment from chaos and loss to something that is more pensive and reflective, such as random patterns in nature.”
At the same time, the contemporary painter is brave enough to keep evolving her style. She also regularly shows off her favourite art to her nearly 3,000 followers on her Instagram account, including gothic-like sketches created with black chalk, colourful abstract pieces and landscape photography.
Having had a career spanning 20 years already, her pieces are now very sought after. That is why they can go for up to £7,000 each, while some are available for £2,500 and £4,000.
Although the 43-year-old is enjoying a successful career as a contemporary painter, it is clear her talents could take her much further, whether that includes more international exhibitions or an even bigger following here in the UK.
If you have an original piece by Melanie Comber or any other contemporary artist that you want to put on your wall, make sure you head to a framing shop in Hackney to get one that suits the picture perfectly.