Melanie Comber is a British artist who was educated at Wimbledon School of Art and Chelsea College of Art in London, graduating in 1994. She is still based in London, working from a studio in a former packaging factory. She has held many solo exhibitions and become well known for her atmospheric oil paintings that come alive through textural detail.
Comber uses oil paints and loose pigment to create otherworldly landscapes, which can either be wholly abstract or based on a real world location. She works with a limited colour palette, often in muted earthy tones, and makes creative use of texture to interpret her vision of the world for the viewer.
To achieve the striking textural effects, Comber applies oil paint and loose pigment in layers composed of different ratios. She then carves patterns into the surface to suggest landscape features and play with scale and distance. These may be recognisable as ploughed fields, pathways, or beaches, or they may move into a wholly abstract realm.
Comber’s paintings are imbued with an emotional charge that intrigues the viewer and invites them to reimagine a familiar view through a fresh perspective. They can instantly recall the experience of walking along the seashore of a deserted beach, taking you on a journey through your own inner landscape.
Comber’s work has been extensively exhibited in the UK and internationally. She was a finalist in the Marmite Art Prize in 2010 and her work was included in the prestigious Royal Academy Summer Show in 2011. Her paintings are sought after around the world and are hung in numerous public and private collections.
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