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This is a 1979 vintage painting by artist Paul Melia, depicting a smiling woman. The watercolor painting is framed and signed by the artist. Measuring 27½ inches in length, 35½ inches in height, and 1 inch in width, the artwork falls under the contemporary period (1970-2020) and showcases an expressionist style. Produced in the 1970s, this single piece artwork captures the essence of a joyful woman in a vibrant and expressive manner.
BIO: Paul Melia (b. 1929 - d. 2019) has been a professional illustrator and painter since 1955. When asked the inevitable question concerning the beginning of his interest in art he recalls an early childhood incident. ""When I was 5 years old, I got hit by a car. My injuries were severe and I was bedridden for quite some time. But that accident was just the beginning of my health problems. I also developed life-threatening asthma. It was during my convalescence that I began to draw as I couldn't do much of anything else. I learned an important lesson as I struggled to recover: my weaknesses became my strength."" Paul had little art training as a child but when he was a sophomore in high school, he had a wonderful art teacher. Paul won a scholarship to the Dayton Art Institute (Dayton, OH) and graduated from the school with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. He worked in Dayton as an illustrator for HH Art Studios. In 1976 he became a freelance artist which he continues to do to this day. As a professional illustrator, Paul has served clients on the Fortune 500 list, the publishing industry, government and the healthcare field; clients such as Proctor and Gamble, NCR, General Electric, Marathon Oil, Parker and Hannifin to name a few. Paul's design, portrait and watermedia works have appeared in nearly 300 exhibitions, many of those are professional commercial art exhibitions such as The Society of Illustrators, New York and Communication Arts International Illustration Annuals.
His work has been included in and won awards in The Bolivian Watercolor Invitational Exhibition Bolivia, South America, American Watercolor Society, Watercolor Oklahoma, Kentucky Aqueous and of course, the Ohio Watercolor Society. Paul is a Dolphin Fellow of the American Watercolor Society. His watermedia paintings have been published numerous books and magazines and are included in private and corporate collections around the world. One of his most interesting projects was designing and painting the official poster of the Vatican which is available in Rome, Italy.
Of his experience as a commercial designer, Paul says he learned to be precise and accurate as well as disciplined. Of his personal life with his wife, Carole, he says her wisdom, love, understanding and nurturing of his health as well as his painting have left an unmistakable and wondrous imprint on everything he has done. Paul and his wife live in Dayton, Ohio. They have four grown children and fifteen grandchildren. --- Paul died in 2019."
