Melissa is currently 26 years old and lives in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador. Like most artists, Melissa became interested in art at a very early age. She did not begin painting seriously, however, until 2005. Melissa is primarily self-taught, and enjoys painting in both acrylics and oils. Fueled by a lifelong passion for the outdoors, Melissa's favorite subjects are wildlife and natural landscapes. She paints primarily from photos in her home-based studio, often combining several different photos to create an entirely new scene. While she is very proud of all she has achieved so far, Melissa admits she still has plenty of room to improve her artwork. The continuing effort to make each painting an improvement over the last is one of the things she enjoys most about art.