About the Artist

Hello, thank you for visiting my little website!

I'm an independent Australian Artist named Melanie Appleyard. I go by the name Mellow with my artwork - a nickname that friends and loved ones call me! I'm a self-taught abstract artist and have painted as a hobby ever since I was a little girl. It's always been something that I enjoy and it makes me feel calm.

I paint by experimentation, and continue to add layers until I feel like the artwork is finished. Each art piece has many layers... Sometimes there are as many as 30 layers to a final painting, it can take weeks for me to complete each one, slow and steady is my pace. My artwork is often inspired by things that I see outdoors in nature. I also draw inspiration through the feelings that I get from the music that I listen to as I paint - which is often quite calming. I am a Day Spa Manager and trained yoga teacher, so I enjoy listening to relaxation and piano music when I paint - it feels like meditation to me.

I love natural pigments and textures, so I often paint using mixed media such as ground coffee beans, fresh coffee, cement, sand, natural clays, minerals and acrylic paint. I love the way that these mediums create an earthy feeling to artwork that imitates the same colours and textures that we see outdoors in nature.

I hope that you enjoy looking at my artwork just as much as I enjoyed creating them, and I will feel so incredibly honoured if any of them end up in your home.

Many smiles,

Mellow x

"When I'm painting, my mind goes into a soft meditative state. I feel slow, gentle and calm... My wish is for that feeling to come across when someone looks at my artwork. If they pause and have a mindful moment, then the art has served its purpose" Melanie Appleyard - Artist