Portraits of a Young Artist’s Journey
Capturing the human experience on canvas has always been a driving force in the art world. There is something about depicting human emotion that mesmerizes observers and artists alike. Each of Isabella Mellado’s strokes on the canvas are painted with this sole purpose, capturing emotion. Every face painted portrays an intricate level of detail that tells a story. This is a talent that only the most mature artists are able to achieve and Mellado has accomplished at 19 years old.
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Mellado, although a young painter, has mastered this powerful way of storytelling with the most admirable skill. Originally from Puerto Rico, and currently a student at Rhode Island School of Design, she creates portraits to speak about her opinions and her life, all within a larger societal context, transforming the personal into universal.
We had the pleasure of speaking with her to find out more about her pieces, her artistic process, the topics she has chosen to portray, and what inspired her.
IBA: Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and how you got started as a painter.
IM: I started drawing very young, as most artists do. That was my main focus artistically. In high school, I became interested in portraits, not even portraits, but just heads. I set out to capture people’s confidence. I enjoyed drawing that. I liked being able to capture the details in someone’s face and trying to capture their essence. That is what ignited my interest in portraiture; meaning portraits of people rather than just their heads. My work became very much traditional. I started out studying with artists outside of my high schools and my painting started to become much more technical. Although, I found the exactitude in portraying something wasn’t very gratifying.
IBA: Your paintings have an almost hyper-realistic feel. Why is it so important to you to portray these characters in such a life-like way?
IM: It’s something that I need to do. It’s not even a choice. I just enjoy painting in this way. I am very obsessive when it comes to my work and I am very controlling when it comes to painting. I need to get every single detail in. Really, it’s not a choice. It also has to do with the way I was trained. I was trained very formally.
IBA: What goals do you hope to achieve through your pieces?
IM: I paint to portray my own struggles. Painting is a very personal thing for me. I’ll come up with something because it’s bothering me at the moment. The whole gym piece (Baes at the Gym), I made it because I have been going to the gym and I was thinking about all these people around me and what they were doing. I wanted to poke a little fun at it.
I don’t have a specific subject that I want to explore throughout my life. People shouldn’t limit themselves to just one big idea. I am exploring everything. Hopefully I’ll come across something that I want to keep on doing.
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"Baes at the Gym" by Isabella Mellado[/caption]
IBA: Many of your subjects are looking directly at the observer. Is this something you’re doing on purpose?
IM: It’s not for shock value. It’s just a very direct way of trying to connect with the viewer. This is the most natural way that I see them. If they’re not looking at you, it doesn’t seem as powerful, you don’t make a connection because they’re not in a conversation with you.
IBA: What is it that makes you want to paint portraits above anything else?
IM: I paint portraits because I am interested in people. I find them compelling. There is an endless amount of things that you could say because you’re endlessly discovering things about them. I could paint a million portraits about myself because I am still figuring things out about me. People are always changing. If I paint a portrait of a friend and do it again a few years from now, it would be completely different.
IBA: Give us a description about the exhibit coming up at La Galeria.
IM: To me, it’s a collection of works. They do have some themes in common: they’re all portraiture, so the exhibit is about people and humanity one way or another. Some of them have to do with religion; these relate to the space that I am showing it in pretty well.
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"A Child's Madonna" by Isabella Mellado[/caption]
The painting about my mother (A Child’s Madonna), this one stemmed from religion. I went to a catholic all-girl school, the same one that my mom went to. I realized after a very long time that their mind-set is — it didn’t seem real to me. I just followed this religion blindly. I was incredibly devout. That got me thinking how parents tend to be these idols, like religious icons. Children tend to see them that way because they follow what they say blindly. That painting is me recognizing that my mother was such a figure for a very long time. Once I left Puerto Rico, I realized she’s not always right, that mindset changed for me.
Others are about our ego as a society, like the piece titled “Baes at the Gym.” The piece itself is about new age narcissism. It points out how people behave at the gym and how social media feeds into that. So many people go to the gym not to actually better themselves, but to tell their friends about it.
IBA: What do you think about IBA and its efforts to promote the arts in La Galería?
I think it’s amazing. It’s remarkable that you are working deep within the Boston community. It is very difficult to come across that at this point in time — an organization that promotes art specifically for their community. It is really great. I am really grateful. It’s a great space to be. The fact that you [IBA] give this opportunity to Latin American young people is truly outstanding.
Mellado will be present during opening night of the exhibition, Friday March 11th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Don’t miss the chance to meet this incredible artist and experience her story.
For more information click here....