“Autumn on Burch Street,” oil on panel by Melwell, 20×16)
In this piece, I sought to capture the quiet radiance of a golden autumn canopy—those moments when the trees seem to hold up the sky like stained glass, and the path ahead feels both familiar and dreamlike. The adobe walls, rooted and soft-edged, reflect not only light but memory—echoes of places I’ve known, or long to know.
As I painted, the figures emerged slowly, like distant memories walking forward. They are not portraits, but presences—witnesses or companions in this in-between season of change, where things fall away to make room for what’s next. This work is about that pause, the hush beneath the leaves, the long afternoon that lingers.
I work in a style that blends abstraction with landscape, influenced by regional architecture, memory, and color relationships. Thick brushwork and vibrant hues are my way of honoring the emotion beneath the scene, not just the image of it. This painting is a love letter to place, transition, and the beauty of looking both forward and back at once.