Interview

Jun 30

Melissa Bohn

Melissa Bohn is a southern artist based in Georgia where she’s resided most of her life. She is happily married to the best guy in the world and they welcomed their first child last year in 2024. Their journey together has not been without it’s ups and downs but it’s a path she would choose time and time again. Painting has always been a passion of Melissa’s. It has been a vital medium to express her joy, her heartaches, and every emotion and feeling in between for many years. For Melissa, art is therapeutic; it's emotional; it's expressive. Acrylics and oils are what she primarily uses in her works, but she loves to experiment and use other mediums as well. She especially loves color! Colors, bright and subtle, can really define the emotion of an art piece and she wants her work to move you in a way that's unique to only you. If she could tweak Edgar Degas' quote just a tad, she’s say “Art is not about what you feel, but what you make others feel.”

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I grew up absolutely loving art. Museums were some of my favorite places to visit because I loved to look at the variety of pieces I could explore and see there. When I was young, I started out by tracing pictures of Disney princesses and pausing VHS movies to free hand a character in the movie I was watching. As I got older, I knew art was what I wanted to do, but didn't know how to get started in it and I didn't have the funds to go to a professional art school. I decided to major in Marketing instead and have had that as a full time job since, but something always lacked. I took a chance, though, and attended a weekend art workshop my aunt, Trish Land, was hosting back in 2022 and I have never looked back. I've attended several additional workshops since, including a week long art trip to France, have hosted my own local classes, and have recently been establishing an official brand for myself into the professional art world. I'm so excited to be embarking on this lifelong dream of mine!”

What inspires you?

“It might sound a little cliche, but nature is something that has always inspired and uplifted me. Growing up in the deciduous forests in Georgia, I have always been surrounded by trees, plants, various bodies of water, and the beautiful sounds of nature - they have been a great source of peace and serenity for me. My travels are equally as inspiring. I have lived abroad in Argentina for a few years and have traveled to many different countries to learn and experience new places and cultures. All of the different styles of architecture, landscaping, plant varieties, foods, and more give me such excitement and ideas for different ways to express myself on a canvas. Most importantly, and truly most impactfully, what inspires me most is my mental health. Art has forever been one of my go-to methods for expression and coping. Through some of the happiest and darkest times in my life, my passion for painting has helped me get through it all, gifting me the freedom to be me; unapologetically and transparently me.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“Most often, I focus heavily on the joys of nature surrounding me or of inspiring places I have been to. I believe there's so much fulfillment and necessity in appreciating and basking in the nature around us, as well as being able to experience more outside of our community bubble. As a more underlying tone, the colors I use in each piece reflect on how I'm feeling in the current moment as a form of personal expression in each of my pieces. Being an advocate for mental health, it is so important for me to feel my voice being expressed and heard through my bodies of work.”

How would you describe your work?

“My work is impressionistic in nature, allowing me to convey a scene enraptured with various movement and emotion while still portraying a place or object that inspires me.”

Which artists influence you most?

“My biggest influence is artist, and my aunt, Trish Land. I have admired and collected her work for years. She has also been a vital mentor to me along my artistic journey and has taught me so much on how to love my art at each stage of its development as well as learning to have fun with exploration! Monet and Van Gogh were the first artists who inspired me as a child. The colors they used, the movement in each piece, the intentional placement of paint... I loved it all. And as I grew older, attended more art events, and generally expanded my horizons as an artist and as a collector, I quickly fell in love with various artists ranging from local to more well known. While I can't list them all here, the ones I find myself circling back to time and time again are Trish Land, Jennifer Mohr, Sarah Foat, and Monique Carr.”

“Most often, I focus heavily on the joys of nature surrounding me or of inspiring places I have been to. I believe there's so much fulfillment and necessity in appreciating and basking in the nature around us, as well as being able to experience more outside of our community bubble.”

What is your creative process like?

“It's a little impulsive, honestly. Sometimes, I have an idea already brewing for what I'd like to paint while others it's simply the desire to do so without any direction in mind. Once I start painting, however, I adapt as the work develops. I let the painting tell me what it needs. It's like a conversation - and we're learning more about each other the further it develops. It sounds super cheesy, but it works!”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“I believe an artist's role is not just to inspire but to also stir emotion and reflect what the world is telling us. Sometimes, that work is a beautiful peaceful landscape to inspire us to go outdoors more and appreciate the beautiful nature we're surrounded by. Other times, it's an emotional snapshot of an individual or a society that begs us to feel compassion towards those who are struggling. More often than not, though, I feel it's to allow each individual to connect with their own emotions and inner selves - to find self discovery and expression through the works of an artist. I feel that the evolving technological world will further increase the need for traditional mediums rather than replace them. I have already seen a shift for friends and family around me preferring to write in journals, to mail a card, or pop in a CD rather than default to a digital equivalent. Similarly with art, I can see traditional mediums growing more popular as our society tires of AI, CGI, and other digital mediums to better root themselves in the here and now.”