Sophie Melville

Sophie Melville is a Wanaka based fine artist, painter, mother and loves finding beauty in simplicity. Her art is about evoking a sense of inner calm and contentment through interpreting and capturing the mountains, lakes, beaches and clouds that surround where she lives. She has a loose abstract style and chooses to paint primarily in black and white watercolour as a reminder of the defining moments of clarity gained from the powerful effects of stillness and awareness. From time to time a soft palette of colour appears in her work when she is inspired by the change from daylight to dusk in the landscape.

The strong contrasted areas of black and white in her paintings relate to being fully present in tasks when all other thoughts are set aside to focus on one thing. Living in the moment allows her to notice and appreciate what is vitally important to her happiness and fulfillment in everyday life so that she appreciates and seesk a sense of beauty in most things as well as feeling grateful for her place in the world.

Sophie has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University (1998), New Zealand and became a full time artist in 2015 after a career as a graphic designer. She had her first solo show entitled ‘The Stillness Within’ at the Front Room, Queenstown in 2016.