Melanie Barrett

Melanie studied her degree in Fine Art at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, before moving to London to complete her MA in Painting at Wimbledon School of Art in 2004.

Since then, Melanie has been working from her studio in County Durham, focussing on portraiture and more recently landscapes. Melanie has taught Art in schools in Mexico City and Uganda, and to date has exhibited at various venues in the North East and London, including Hackney, Kings Cross, the Discerning Eye Exhibition 2003, as well as at the London Art Fair in 2005.

Melanie says: "I am fascinated by the drama that can be created by the interplay of light and dark within a composition, and am preoccupied with recreating the beauty that can be captured in fleeting moments of every day life.

My work is heavily influenced by photography and I take inspiration from the work of Sickert, Degas and more recently, Tim Gardner."